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^ ‘»^'.» .<•' 

















PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. 
AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 


Books by 

DAVID CORY 

PUSS IN BOOTS, Jr., AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 
PUSS IN BOOTS, Jr., IN NEW MOTHER GOOSE LAND 
THE ADVENTURES OF PUSS IN BOOTS, Jr. 
FURTHER ADVENTURES OF PUSS IN BOOTS. Jr. 
PUSS IN BOOTS, Jr., IN FAIRYLAND 
TRAVELS OF PUSS IN BOOTS, Jr. 


HARPER & BROTHERS, NEW YORK 
[Established 1817 ] 


AUG 2b la2U 



Puss inBoois .Tr. 

and Old Mother Goose 



TWILIGHT TALES 

Harper & Brothers, Publishers 














Puss in Boots, Jr., and Old Mother Goose 


Copyright, 1919, by Harper & Brothers 
Printed in the United States of America 


L-T 


©CI.A576200 



• • <7 AW A'i 


CONTENTS 


r4 

I 




PAGE 

Over the River Dee. 1 

Mother Goose Gives Puss a Ride. 5 

Clover Cottage.11 

“Winky-pinky”.17 

Three Little Kittens.20 

Winkie, Blinkie Willie.24 

The Moon Man Makes a Visit.28 

A Party.31 

Puss Gives Some Advice.34 

Betty Winkle ..37 

Puss Meets Another Cat.40 

The Boaster.43 

The Prince in Disguise.46 

A Cat and a Mouse.49 

The Queen in London Town.52 

Puss Leaves Court.55 

Humpty-Dumpty’s Home.58 

Egg-Shell Island.61 

Crooked Adventures.64 

Fairy Nimble Finger’s Gift.67 

A Narrow Escape.70 

Cross-patch.74 

Puss Is Knighted.77 

























CONTENTS 


page 

Two Princesses. 80 

Puss Solves a Riddle. 83 

Pretty Maid Sings “Rock-a-by”.86 

Little Moon Mouse.90 

Mrs. Cuckoo Sings a Song.,. . 93 

Goosey Gander Learns to Fly.96 

The Sunbeam’s Riddle.99 

Blackbird Flies Away.102 

What Changed Bluebeard’s Beard?.106 

An Adventure at School .109 

Swan Palace.112 

The Bandy-legged Man.115 

A Rescue.118 

The Unruly Kite. 121 

Goosey Gander Flies Away.124 


















PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. 
AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 


















PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. 
AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 


OVER THE RIVER DEE 

W ELL, here we are once more reading about 
little Puss, Junior. In the last book. 
Puss in Boots, Jr., in Fairy Land, we left him 
on his Good Gray Horse riding away from the 
wonderful musician who played so beautifully 
that all the wild animals stood still to listen. 
And the reason, you remember, Puss didn’t wait 
was because his Good Gray Horse was afraid that 
a big lean wolf might harm them when the 
music stopped. And now we begin this book 
without the Good Gray Horse, for he had 
sprained a leg and his little master had been 
forced to leave him with a kind prince. Wasn’t 
that too bad? For the Good Gray Horse was 
very wise and a great help to Puss in his travels. 

One day as Puss, Junior, stood on the top 
of a high mountain a little old man with a long 
l 




PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 

white beard and a high peaked hat came out 
from behind a big stone. 

“Am I a long way from the castle where my 
famous father, Puss in Boots, is, Majordomo?” 
asked Puss, Junior. 

“Yes,” answered the little old man. “But you 
must not lose courage. I will help you. Come 
with me.” 

So Puss followed the little old man down the 
steep mountain path, and by and by they came 
to a little stream. 

“ Wait a minute,” said the little old man, and 
he leaned over the bank and called out in a 
loud voice: 

“Trout, trout, in your silver stream. 

Tell me if these waters clear 
Run through Mother Goose Land 
Which children hold so dear?” 


And pretty soon a big speckled trout pushed 
his nose up through the water and said: 

“Follow this brook o’er meadow and lea 
Till it empties into the River Dee.” 

“Oh, I know the River Dee! ” cried little Puss, 
Junior. “I once met the jolly miller who lived 
by the River Dee, but it was a long time after 
he was bitten by the flea.” 

And then the trout gave a flip to his tail and 
2 




OVER THE RIVER DEE 

swam away, and the little old man patted Puss 
on the head and said: 



“Good luck, little Sir Cat. I hope you will 
soon be in dear Old Mother Goose Land. I have 
a book of Mother Goose rhymes in my cave on 
the mountain-top, and every night I read them 
3 









































PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 


to a little lame bird who lives with me and sings 
her pretty songs. I am an old, old man, but 
I still like Mother Goose.” 

Well, by and by Puss came to a bridge, for 
the little brook, you see, had run into the River 
Dee, and after he had crossed over with a 
handsome prince who was going that way he 
came to a beautiful meadow where flowers grew 
and grasshoppers fiddled in the tall grass. And 
as Puss was pretty tired after his long walk he sat 
down beneath a shady tree, and while he sat there 
an old grasshopper came up to him and said: 

“Fiddle dum, fiddle dee, 

I’m the best fiddler you ever did see.” 

“Then play me a tune,” said Puss, Junior, 
with a grin. So the old grasshopper began to 
scrape his leg against the inside of his wing and 
this made a strange kind of music, and pretty 
soon a little robin and a meadow-lark flew by, 
and when they heard the strange music they sat 
on a limb to listen. And in the next story you 
shall hear what the meadow-lark said to Puss. 


MOTHER GOOSE GIVES PUSS A RIDE 


N OW the song which the meadow-lark started 
to sing in the last story was this: 

“Little Puss, Junior, you will find 

That the brook that flows close at hand 
Empties into the River Dee 

On the border of Mother Goose Land.** 

“Well, that’s where I want to go, back to dear 
Mother Goose Land,” said little Puss, Junior, 
with a sigh, and he stretched out his legs and 
looked at his red-top boots, which were dusty 
as could be with the day’s travel. 

“Fiddle-dee-dee, fiddle - dee - dee,” sang the 
grasshopper, and then the little robin redbreast 
started to sing: 

“Over the hills and far away 
Is the land where Mother Goose children play. 
Humpty Dumpty upon his wall, 

And Little Boy Blue with his Bugle-call, 

And little Bo-Peep with her snow-white sheep, 

And Wee Willie Winkie who makes them sleep.” 

“Oh dear, and oh dear!” sighed Puss, “how 
I wish I were there! I find a new friend every 


PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 

day. They travel with me for a little while, 
and then they go away.” And after that he 
began to whistle, for he felt just the least little 
bit lonely, for one likes to have a comrade on a 
journey, you know. 

“Over the hills and far away, 

I make my journey day by day. 

Sometimes a giant big and tall 
I meet outside his castle wall. 

Sometimes a fairy in the glen, 

Sometimes a gnome with his little men; 

But of all the friends that have come to hand 
I love those best in Mother Goose Land.” 

And no sooner had he finished his song than 
Old Mother Goose herself appeared on her 
Gander. 

“Take me with you, dear Mother Goose, for 
I am so tired,” said little Puss, Junior. And 
then the dear old lady helped him to climb on 
the Gander’s back, and when she had seated 
herself just in front of him her feathered steed 
flapped his wings and rose high in the air, and 
after he had looked all around he set sail straight 
for Mother Goose Country. 

On and on they flew, and by and by the 
sun went down in his red and crimson bed in 
the west, and the Twinkle, Twinkle Star came 
out. And when she saw Puss on Mother Goose’s 
Gander she told the Man in the Moon, who was 



mother goose gives puss a ride 


so happy to hear the good news that he forgot 
to eat a cheese sandwich before going to bed. 





“Go to sleep, little Puss, Junior,” said- 
Mother Goose; “you won’t fall off.” And 
then the Twinkle, Twinkle Star commenced to 
sing: 

2 


7 







PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 

“ Rock-a-by, rock-a-by, 

Sleep till the dawn, 

When the red and green rooster 
Will blow on his horn.” 

Well, by and by, after a while, away off in the 
east the big, jolly Sun began to paint the sky all 
sorts of lovely colors, and the roosters com¬ 
menced to crow and the little deer in the forest 
to walk down to the streams to drink. And 
pretty soon the farmers opened their back 
doors and went out to milk the cows, and not 
very long after that the factory whistles blew, 
and then the big wide world was really awake. 
And so Mother Goose thought it was time to 
wake up little Puss, Junior, for he was still 
sound asleep on the soft feathery back of the 
big Gander. 

“Puss, Puss! Wake up!” 

“Where am I?” he asked, rubbing his eyes, 
for he had forgotten all about getting up on the 
Gander the night before, you see. 

“You’re on your way to Mother Goose Land,” 
said the dear old lady. “We’re almost there!” 

So Puss rubbed his eyes and sat up. And 
sure enough, there was the Old Woman in her 
basket flying through the air. And that other 
Old Woman who swept the cobwebs off the sky. 

“Ha, ha!” laughed Puss. “All my old friends 
are here!” 

And presently, as the Gander flew down 
8 


MOTHER GOOSE GIVES PUSS A RIDE 


toward the earth, Puss saw the Old Woman 
Who Lived in a Shoe opening the little front 



door in the toe, and Little Boy Blue blowing 
his horn in the meadow, and the cow with the 
crumpled horn, and the house that Jack built. 
“Ha, ha!” laughed Puss again. “I’m so glad 
9 








PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 


to be in this dear old country where giants 
and wicked dwarfs don’t try to frighten people 
to death.” 

Well, pretty soon the Gander alighted in a 
barn-yard where that famous Black Hen laid 
nice eggs for gentlemen. And as she was a 
great friend of Old Mother Goose, she invited 
them both into her little house for breakfast. 

Now it wasn’t a regular hen-house, you know, 
but a pretty little cottage with white curtains 
at the windows and a little red chimney. And 
the little Black Hen knew how to keep it neat 
and clean, let me tell you. For she had a feather 
duster that was made out of the tail feathers of 
her great-great-grandfather, who was a famous 
rooster in his day, and every morning she dusted 
her little house from garret to cellar. 

Well, it didn’t take her long to get a nice 
breakfast for dear Old Mother Goose and little 
Puss, Junior, and she didn’t forget the Gander, 
either. And while they were folding their nap¬ 
kins, three gentlemen drove up to get some fresh 
eggs. So the little Black Hen went to her cup¬ 
board and brought out some nice fresh ones and 
put them in a little box with little pasteboard 
partitions. 

And what do you suppose was printed on the 
cover of that pasteboard box? I’ll tell you, if 
you’ll promise to be good until I can write the 
next story. 


t t 


CLOVER COTTAGE 

W ELL, well, well! I was just going to start 
this story without telling you first what 
was written on the little pasteboard box which 
the little Black Hen had filled with nice fresh 
eggs for the gentlemen who came every day to 
see her. But I remembered just in time, so 
here it is: 

FRESH-LAID EGGS 
Mrs. Black Hen 
Clover Cottage 
Mother Goose Land 

“There,” said the little Black Hen, as she 
turned back into her house where Puss and 
Mother Goose were, you remember, in the last 
story, “my business is over for the day, except, 
of course. I’ll have to lay a nice white egg at 
half past ten to give to-morrow to these men.” 
And then she cackled three times and a beauti¬ 
ful big red rooster came down the street and 
gave her a letter from a cousin of hers who 
wanted her to come over and make a visit, so 
11 


PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 


Mother Goose and Puss jumped on the Gander 
and said good-by, and away they flew across 
the sky till they saw the old mill by the River 
Dee where the miller ground his corn. 



“Let us stop and see him,” suggested Puss, so 
the Gander flew down to earth and the miller came 
out of his mill and said good morning. And he 
was in a very jolly mood that day because he had 
caught the flea that bothered him so. 

“I’m glad to hear that,” said Old Mother 
Goose, “for a flea can bother one more than the 
bills on the first of the month.” 

12 




CLOVER COTTAGE 


“That’s true,” said the miller, scratching his 
head. “Although I don’t have many bills, I 
once had a wife who did, but that was a long 
time ago, before I became a miller.” 

And just then along came 

Yankee-Doodle Dandy 
Riding on his pony. 

In his hand a lollvpop 
Instead of macaroni. 

“Helloa, there!” he shouted, reining in his 
little steed. “Three cheers for the Red, White, 
and Blue!” and he took out a pretty flag and 
waved it back and forth, and then the Gander 
flapped his wings and the old mill-wheel went 
around so fast that the water turned into foam. 

“Hold on!” shouted the rusty, dusty miller; 
“you’ll have my old mill toppling over,” and I 
guess that would have happened if Yankee- 
Doodle hadn’t stopped shouting and waving 
his flag. 

“Well, we must be off,” said Old Mother 
Goose, so away she and Puss went atop of the 
speedy Gander until they came to the garden 
of the Sing-a-song-of-sixpence Castle. 

And the maid was in the garden 
Hanging out the clothes, 

But there wasn’t any blackbird 
To pinch her pretty nose, 

13 


PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 


for the King had hired a little man with a great 
big gun to shoot any blackbird that dared come 
into the garden on Monday. 

4 ‘How are the King and Queen to-day?” 
asked Old Mother Goose, as she straightened 
her bonnet and put her little mirror back in 
her vanity-bag. 

“Oh, they are very well,” replied the maid, 
with a courtesy. “The King is in his counting- 
house counting out his money, and the Queen 
is in the parlor eating bread and honey.” 

“Just what they were doing when I was nere 
before,” laughed Puss. “Is that all kings and 
queens have to do in Mother Goose Land, I 
wonder?” and Puss smiled to himself, for he had 
seen lots of queens and kings since that time, you 
know, and other wonderful people in Fairy-land. 

Just then the Queen looked out of the win¬ 
dow, and as soon as she saw Puss and dear 
Old Mother Goose she rang a little bell, and 
pretty soon a page ran out and asked them both 
to come in. And then the maid took the Gander 
around to the royal kitchen, where he had a 
fine dinner. 

Well, pretty soon the King finished counting 
his money and came into the parlor, and then 
they all had a fine time eating bread and honey, 
and the King gave Puss a picture of himself 
and the Queen gave him a little gold ring, and 
then Mother Goose and Puss got on board their 
14 


CLOVER COTTAGE 


Gander ship and sailed away over the meadows 
and over the spray that splashed from the ocean 



deep and blue till they came to the town of 
Betsey and Prue. 


15 


















PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 


Now Betsey and Prue were two old maids 
who kept a lollypop-shop, and everybody in 
town worked for them, so that is the reason they 
named this pretty place after these two old maids. 

Well, the first person Puss and Mother Goose 
saw was Jackey Top, who loved a ’licious lolly- 
pop. He was first cousin to Jackadandy, who 
loved plum cake and sugar candy, and he had 
a cousin named Little Jack Horner. So you 
see this must have been a lovely town to live in 
and that these boys had lots of fun there. 

“Run along to the candy-shop. Here’s some 
money,” said Mother Goose, and she gave each 
little boy a penny, and then she and Puss again 
mounted the Gander, who flew away as fast as 
his strong wings would take him. 

Heigh-diddle-dee, 

Happy are we. 

Flying so high 
Up in the sky. 

Forever and ever, 

As light as a feather 
We sail o’er the town 
Like a light thistle-down. 


“WINKY-PINKY” 


N OW the Sing - a - song - of - sixpence Castle, 
where Puss was in the last story, you re¬ 
member, looked down on a beautiful river, the 
River Dee, you know, where stood the old mill 
whose owner once found a flea upon his pillow. 
And pretty soon Mother Goose jumped on the 
Gander and flew away, so Puss went down to 
the river’s edge and looked over the bank. 
And just then a beautiful snow-white duck swam 
up to the bank and said: 

“Little Sir Kitten, get on my back 
And we will go for a sail. 

Hang on to my long and slender neck 
And lean back against my tail, 

And we will go where the lily-pads grow. 

White and pink in a pretty row/’ 

So Puss jumped on the duck’s back and she 
swam away, and by and by, after a while, they 
came to a cluster of lilies resting on their green 
pads. 

“Now pick one,” said the Duck. “But, 
17 


PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 

mind you, be sure to say, ‘Winky-pinky,’ or 
something dreadful will happen,” 

Well, Puss leaned over and picked a flower, 
and then he said “ Pinky-winky” instead of 



“Winky-pinky.” And, oh, dear me! What do 
you suppose happened? Why, a great, big, 
wicked water-snake came up close to him and 
opened his mouth, and then he stuck out his 
long, thin red tongue and was just going to 
sting poor little Puss, Junior, when the Duck 
gave a loud quack and said: 

18 








“ WINKY-PINKY ” 


“Be careful, Mr. Snake, wliat you do. 

Don’t you dare to hurt this little pussy-cat. 

I’m surprised that you should think. 

Because he said ‘Pinky-wink,’ 

That you’d try to hurt his lovely feather hat.” 

“Think before you speak next time,” said the 
Water-snake. “That’s what my mother always 
taught me,” and then he swam away. And 
after that the Duck took Puss across the lake, 
where he jumped off her back and said good-by. 
And then he started off once more in search of 
new adventure, and by and by, after a while, 
he came to the house that Jack built. And, oh, 
dear me, how it was changed since Puss had 
last seen it! There was a big piazza all around 
it, and in place of the barn was a nice new 
garage, and there stood Jack himself, with the 
Dog that Worried the Cat. 

“Helloa! helloa! here’s Puss, Junior!” shouted 
Jack, and then the Maiden all Forlorn that 
milked the cow with the crumpled horn ran out 
of the house, with the Cat that Ate the Rat 
close at her heels. And then the Cock that 
Crowed in the Morn began to sing: 

“ Cock-a-doodle-do! 

Sir Kitten has returned 
From foreign lands and coral strands 
Across the ocean blue.” 

And in the next story you shall hear what 
happened after that. 


19 


THREE LITTLE KITTENS 


W ELL, it made little Puss, Junior, very 
happy to have Jack and the Maiden all 
Forlorn that milked the cow with the crumpled 
horn so glad to see him once more, for you 
know how nice it is to meet old friends and have 
them glad to see you. But Puss didn’t stay 
long. Oh my, no! He soon said good-by and 
started off once more through dear Old Mother 
Goose Land, and before he had gone very far 
he saw his old friend, the Cow that Jumped Over 
the Moon. She was grazing in a meadow close 
by, and when she saw Puss she gave a loud moo 
and jumped over the fence. 

“Helloa, Sir Puss, Junior! 

Where have you been so long? 

In field and lane I’ve looked in vain. 

And called to you in song.” 

“Let me get on your back and I will tell you 
as we jog along,” said little Puss, Junior, with 
a grin, for he didn’t think she would let him, 
you know. 


THREE LITTLE KITTENS 


“I’ll take you as far as the Red Barn,” she 
said; so Puss jumped on her back and away 
they went together, and it was a good thing 
she didn’t try to jump over the moon, as she 
once did, oh, so many stories ago, before Puss 
went to Fairy-land. 

Well, by and by, after a while, they came to 
a big red barn, and as it was getting late, Puss 
thought it would be wiser for him not to go 
any farther, so he looked about for a place to 
spend the night. And not very far away, among 
the trees, he saw a little light shining through 
the dark. So he left the Cow that Jumped Over 
the Moon in the big Red Barn, and pretty soon 
he came to a little cottage. 

Well, Puss stepped up to the door and gave 
three knocks, and pretty soon it opened, and 
there stood the Three Little Kittens who had 
lost their mittens: 

“Why, here is Puss, Junior, 

The most famous of kittens. 

Let us tell him at once 

That we all found our mittens.” 

“I’m very glad to hear that,” laughed Puss. 
“But tell me, can you give me some supper?” 

“Of course we can,” cried all the little kittens 
at once. And then Tom hung Puss, Junior’s, 
cap on a peg, and Tabby took him into the par¬ 
lor and sat down with him on the sofa, and the 
21 


PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 

third little kitten, whose name was Judy, got 
the supper ready. 



And after supper they all sat around the table 
and Puss told them how he had been to Japan 
and ridden in a rickshaw, and to India, and had 
ridden on an elephant’s back. He told them, 















THREE LITTLE KITTENS 


too, all about liis trip to China and how he had 
ridden the big farm buffalo with the little 
Chinese boy. And some day I’m going to write 
a book about Puss, Junior’s, travels in foreign 
lands and then you’ll know as much as these 
Three Little Kittens. And when he had fin¬ 
ished, the little cuckoo came out of her clock 
and sang: 

“It’s eight o’clock and time for bed. 

So get your nightcap on your head, 

And take your candle in your hand 
And start at once for Dreamy Land.” 

So Puss said good-by and went away, for there 
was no room in the little house for him to sleep in. 

And in the next story you shall hear what 
happened after that. 

3 


WINKIE, BLINKIE WILLIE 


INKIE, BLINKIE WILLIE is running through the 



“ * town 

In his velvet slippers and little nightgown. 

He shields the little candle, for fear it will blow out. 

And through the keyhole in the door he gives a warning 


shout: 


‘“Wash your hands and faces, time to get in bed; 

Pull the covers to your chin when your prayers are said. 

When you hear the rooster crowing in the morn, 

Jump up bright and happy like a little fawn.’ ” 

This is what Puss heard as he stepped out of 
the little house of the Three Kittens. It was 
just at the hour when the Twinkle, Twinkle Star 
begins to bloom like a little flower in the sky, 
you know. 

“Dear me!” said Puss to himself, “I sha’n’t 
have much time to look about, for it’s growing 
late.” And just then who should come by but 
the little old woman who swept the cobwebs off 
the sky. 


“Ilelloa, little cat!” said she. “Where are 
you going?” 


24 


WINKIE, BLINKIE WILLIE 


“Pm sure I don’t know,” replied Puss. “1’m 
a stranger here.” 

“Come with me,” said the little old woman; 
“I will give you lodgings,” and she led the 



way to a little cottage covered with rose- 
vines and morning-glories, which were fast 
asleep, for they never wake up until the sun 

99 




PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 


shines, you know, and go to bed early every 
afternoon. 

Well, as soon as Puss was inside this little 
house he saw how clean the little old woman 
kept it. And I guess she knew how, for any 
one who can sweep cobwebs off the sky can 
certainly keep them off the ceiling, don’t you 
think? 

And the next thing Puss saw was a great, big 
black cat with green eyes, and she was washing 
her face with her paw and purring away like a 
little breeze among the sea-grass. 

“I’m the pussy-cat that went to London to 
see the Queen,” she said. So Puss sat down 
and asked her to tell him all about it, and just 
as she was about to begin a little mouse crept 
out of his hole and said: 

“Twinkle, twinkle, piece of cheese, 

You smell so sweet you make me sneeze.’* 


And this made Puss laugh out loud, and of 
course the little mouse became so frightened 
that he ran back to his hole and told Mrs. 
Mouse there was a great big giant cat in the 
house who wore boots with red tops. 

Well, by this time the old woman who swept 
the cobwebs off the sky when the wind was 
blowing sweet and dry took out of her cupboard 
her old mother hubbard, and when she was 
20 


WINKIE, BLINKIE WILLIE 

dressed she said, “I’ll be blest if I don’t think 
I’ll take a piece of sponge cake.” 

And while she was eating it a knock came at 
the door, and in the next story you shall hear 
who was there. 


THE MOON MAN MAKES A VISIT 


OU remember in the last story a knock 



I came at the door just as the little old 
woman who kept the sky clean of cobwebs was 
talking to Puss. 

“Who can that be?” she said. “It is getting 
late for callers,” and then she went over and 
opened the door. And there stood the Man in 
the Moon. 

“What brings you here?” she asked. “You 
should be up in the sky country tending to your 
lamps in the moon.” 

“There is no moon to-night,” he replied. 
“The sky is covered with clouds and the rain 
will soon be coming down!” 

“Well, what can I do for you?” she asked, 
pushing a chair forward for him to sit on. And 
just then he saw Puss, Junior, for the first time. 

“Gracious me!” he cried, “if this isn’t my 
little friend pussy in boots,” and the Man in the 
Moon got up and shook hands with Puss, Junior. 

Oh, the Man in the Moon 
Has a silvery spoon 


28 


THE MOON MAN MAKES A VISIT 


And a bowl of shimmery gold, 

And every night when the sky is light 
And the dew is sparkling cold 
He fills his jars with the diamond stars 
Like a robber brave and bold. 

And just then it began to rain, and some 
acorns dropped on the roof with a rat-a-tat-tat. 
And the wind blew down the chimney and 
scattered the ashes from the hearth over the 
floor, and the candles flickered and flared, and 
then the lightning flashed and the thunder rolled. 

“Deary me!” exclaimed the old woman, and 
she picked up her broom and swept up the 
floor, for she was a particular old lady, let me 
tell you, and kept her house as neat as a pin. 

“It’s a bad night,” said the Man in the Moon. 
“Can you lend me an umbrella?” So the old 
woman gave him one and then he wished them 
good night and went out into the darkness, but 
how he ever found his way back to the sky 
country is more than I can tell. Perhaps he 
flew up on the back of an old owl! At any 
rate, he reached the moon safely, for the next 
night it was shining as brightly as ever when 
little Puss, Junior, looked up to the sky as he 
was making his way along a country road that 
led to the town of Bramberry Cross, where lived 
an old lady who owned a white horse. She had 
Liberty Bonds and Thrift Savings Stamps and 
Japanese shades on her best parlor lamps, 

29 


PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 


Well, it was getting late and, as the town was 
still some distance away, Puss crept into a hay¬ 
stack and was soon fast asleep, and in the next 



story if a little black spider who loved apple 
cider doesn’t tickle his ear I’ll tell you what 
happened after that. 


30 












A PARTY 


“T_TERE stands a post; 

Who put it there? 

A better man than you. 

Touch it if you dare!” 

“I like that verse,” said Puss, Junior, to him¬ 
self. “It sounds as if the man who wrote it 
was a brave man.” But just the same, the post 
was of no help to travelers, for the sign didn’t 
say how many miles it was to this town nor 
how many to that. And while Puss, Junior, 
stood at the crossroads, uncertain which way 
to go, Tom, the Piper’s Son, came by, playing, 
gaily, “Over the hills and far away”! 

“I’ll take the road over the hills and far 
away,” said Puss to himself, and he never looked 
back at the pleasant road that led through the 
green meadows. “Over the hills and far away” 
was the road for him. 

Well, by and by he came to a cottage where 
close to the fence were two little old people 
looking as cross as two sticks. The little old 
man was weeding the garden, scowling all the 
while, and his little old wife was leaning on the 
fence, frowning as hard as she could. 


PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 


“What’s the trouble, my good woman?” asked 
our little traveler. 



“My little old man and I fell out; 

I'll tell you what ’twas all about— 

I had money and he had none, 

And that’s the way the noise begun,” 

answered the little old woman. 

32 



















A PARTY 


“Too bad!” said Puss. “And you have such 
a nice garden and such a pretty cottage.” 

“IPs this way,” cried the little old man, com¬ 
ing up to the fence. “She keeps the key to 
the little iron bank and won’t let me get out 
even a penny now and then to buy tobacco 
with. That’s what’s the matter.” 

Well, I don’t know what the little old woman 
would have said to this if at that moment a 
stage-coach hadn’t stopped before the gate. Out 
jumped Jack and Jill, Little Bo-Peep, Simple 
Simon, Little Red Riding-Hood, and lots and 
lots of Mother Goose people. 

Each one had something nice for the two 
grumpy old people. Simple Simon had a box 
of tobacco for the little old man, but just what 
the little girls gave the old lady I really can’t 
say, for there were so many ribbons and bows 
and that sort of thing that I’m all mixed up. 
But I do know this: before the coach drove off, 
the old woman gave the key to the little old 
man and told him to get out some money to 
buy ice-cream with so that everybody might 
have a feast. 


PUSS GIVES SOME ADVICE 


H EIGH-HO !” cried little Puss, Junior, 
merrily starting out one fine morning on 
liis journey , of adventure, and just as he came 
to a wood he heard a voice singing: 

“Sylvia, sweet as morning air. 

Do not drive me to despair; 

Long have I sighed in vain; 

Now I am come again. 

Will you be mine or no-a-no— 

Will you be mine or no?” 


There knelt Simple Simon before the fair Sylvia. 
But, oh, dear me! she only frowned and said: 

“Simon, pray leave off your suit. 

For of your courting you’ll reap no fruit; 

I would rather give a crown 
Than be married to a clown. 

Go for a booby, go, go-a-go— 

Go for a booby, go.” 

Then Simple Simon turned sorrowfully away, 
and he was so sad that he walked with his head 
downcast and so almost ran into Puss, Junior. 
34 


PUSS GIVES SOME ADVICE 


“Cheer up, Simon,” cried Puss. “Love is 
blind, so I’ll pardon your running into me!” 

“Ha, ha!” laughed Sylvia, “you are a bright 
little cat!” 



“Let me tell you both a story,” said Puss, Junior. 
“Tell one of your adventures,” said Sylvia, 
seating herself on a fallen tree. 

35 











PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 


“Well, I will tell you about the man who 
scratched out both his eyes—the Bramble-bush 
Man, you know. It was the day I rode home 
on my Good Gray Horse with the farmer’s 
daughter so rosy and fair. We stopped at his 
house to ask him where my father lived. You 
see, I was then hunting for my dear father. 
Everybody called the man a wise man, so I 
thought he could tell me. But he couldn’t. In 
fact, he said that he considered himself a 
very foolish man indeed to jump into a bram¬ 
ble-bush and scratch out both his eyes, and 
that it was a wonder he had had enough 
sense to jump into another bush and scratch 
them in again. Now the moral of this little 
story to you, my dear Simon, is this: You 
have fallen in love with Sylvia; in fact, you 
have jumped into a bramble-bush of love and 
scratched out both your eyes, for Sylvia doesn’t 
love you; and if one is not loved in return, love 
is certainly a bramble-bush. Now my advice 
to you is to fall in love with another girl and 
get your eyes again!” 

Puss, Junior, stood up and twisted his mus¬ 
tache, and then, bowing very low, continued on 
his way. Poor Simon looked at Sylvia, but I 
don’t know to this day whether he took Puss, 
Junior’s, advice or not. 


BETTY WINKLE 


TITTLE Betty Winkle, she had a pig. 

It was a little pig, not very big. 
When he was alive he lived in clover. 
But now he’s dead he’s dead all over. 


This was a very sad state of affairs, and Puss, 
Junior, felt very sorry for Betty Winkle. He 
didn’t feel sorry for the little pig, for he was 
dead and couldn’t feel anything any more. 

“He was such a dear little pig,” said Betty 
Winkle, looking at Puss with tear-dimmed eyes. 
“He was so cunning, and his tail had such a 
curl!” 

“I always liked pigs,” replied our small trav¬ 
eler. “My first adventure, many, many stories 
ago, was with Piggie Porker, and since then I’ve 
met the pig that was stolen by Tom, the Piper’s 
Son, and the pig that flew up in the air and was 
soon brought down by the man in brown. Oh 
yes, I’ve met many pigs in my travels. They 
are quite famous animals in Mother Goose." 

“And so are cats,” said little Betty Winkle. 
“There’s the little cat who went to London to 
37 


PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 


see the Queen, and the cat who came singing 
out of a bam with a pair of bagpipes under her 
arm, and the Ding-dong-bell Pussy in the Well.” 



“Yes, I’ve met them all,” replied Puss, 
Junior, “and almost everybody in Mother Goose 
Land besides.” 

“Won’t you tell me a story?—for you have 
traveled so much you must know many inter¬ 
esting things.” 




















BETTY WINKLE 


“I will tell you about the Robber Cat,” com¬ 
menced Puss, as he and Betty Winkle sat down. 
“My little comrade, Tom Thumb, was with me. 
We saw this bold cat enter a wood. He had a 
big pistol and he looked very fierce. The first 
person he met was a rooster, and in a twinkling 
he shot his head off. Then he robbed a nest of 
young owls and took a purse away from a pussy¬ 
cat. Well, by this time he discovered Tom 
Thumb and me. If it hadn’t been for the pistol 
I would have fought him with my sword, but 
that was too risky, so I waited my time and 
finally got the pistol away from him. And the 
way it came about was this: A Robber Dog 
met us and at once attacked the Robber Kitten. 
Now, I can’t see a dog get the best of a cat, not 
even if the cat has tried to get the best of me,” 
said Puss, Junior, with a laugh. “So I set upon 
the Robber Dog and with the help of the Rob¬ 
ber Cat we put him to flight, which so pleased 
the kitten that we became great friends, and 
he went home to his mother and promised to 
be a good cat ever after. And I guess he has 
kept his word.” 

Then Puss, Junior, stood up and bowed. “I 
must be on my way; so good-by, Miss Betty 
Winkle. Let me say, you should be gay; let 
your blue eyes twinkle. Don’t be sad, be 
always glad, little Betty Winkle.” 


4 


PUSS MEETS ANOTHER CAT 


E LTLE Jack Jelf was put on the shelf 
Because he could not spell pie. 

When his aunt, Mrs. Grace, 

Saw his sorrowful face. 

She could not help saying, “Oh, fie!” 

“He can eat pie, though, can’t he?” asked 
Puss, Junior, with a grin. “And I think he 
can spell it, too.” 

But, oh, dear me! He couldn’t. He just sat 
there: 

And since Master Jelf 
Was put on the shelf 

Because he could not spell pie. 

Let him stand there so grim. 

And no more about him. 

For I wish him a very good-by! 

And Puss, Junior, doffed his cap and went 
upon his way. “I have no use for such stupid 
boys,” he said to himself, and neither have I, 
and I hope that no little boy or girl who reads 
this story is as stupid as Jack Jelf. 

Well, Puss, Junior, went merrily along, whis¬ 
tling a little tune, and by and by he came to 

40 


PUSS MEETS ANOTHER CAT 


the house where lived the old woman who rode 
on a broom. But she wasn’t at home. She had 
gone for a ride in the sky, her old cat told Puss. 



“She usually takes me along for the groom 
When she goes a-sky-riding upon her old broom. 
I sit behind and she sits before 
While we merrily travel the sky-meadows o’er,” 
4! 





















PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 


“I met your mistress many stories ago,” said 
Puss, Junior. “I was then traveling with dear 
Mother Goose on her Gander. We came across 
your mistress and we traveled together for some 
time. I think we took a trip to the Man in the 
Moon.” 

“Well, now I remember you,” cried the old 
cat. “I was very hungry and wanted to get 
home. I slid down a rainbow and my mistress 
went without me.” 

“Ha, ha!” laughed Puss. “I can see you 
now. But let me tell you a little secret. I did 
the very same thing myself not long ago. I 
landed in a haystack. Where did you land?” 

“On top of a circus tent,” said the old cat. 
“And would you believe it, I crawled in through 
a hole in the canvas and saw the show for 
nothing.” 

“Did you happen to see a cat with red-topped 
boots riding on a beautiful white horse? If you 
did, I was the cat, for I once belonged to a circus 
for three whole days.” 

And would you believe it, the old cat said 
yes, and then she and Puss had a good laugh 
and a cup of tea. 


THE BOASTER 


O NE day, as Puss, Junior, came to a little 
house in the wood, he heard a man say to 
his wife that he could do as much work in one 
day as she could do in three. 

“With all my heart,” the old woman said, 

“If that you will allow, 

To-morrow you’ll stay at home in my stead, 
And I’ll go drive the plow.” 

“And you shall stay and be the judge,” cried 
the old man, on seeing Puss, Junior. 

“I am willing,” said the old woman to her 
husband, 

“But you must milk the Tidy cow. 

For fear that she go dry; 

And you must feed the little pigs 
That are within the sty; 

And you must mind the speckled hen. 

For fear she lay away; 

And you must reel the spool of yarn 
That I spun yesterday.” 

“He’ll have his hands full,” laughed Puss to 
himself, but he said nothing. Well, when the 
next morning came, 


43 


PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 


The old woman took a staff in her hand 
And went to drive the plow; 

The old man took a pail in his hand 
And went to milk the cow. 



But, oh, dear me! What happened then was 

too funny for anything. The cow kicked over 

44 












THE BOASTER 


the milking-pail, and the little old man fell off 
his three-legged stool into the straw. 

“High! Tidy! ho! Tidy! high! 

Tidy, do stand still! 

If ever I milk you. Tidy, again, 

’Twill be sore against my will!” 

Then he went to feed the little pigs, but he 
bumped his head against a beam. I guess he 
saw a million stars. And after that 

He went to mind the speckled hen. 

For fear she’d lay astray. 

And he forgot the spool of yarn 
His wife spun yesterday. 

So he swore by the sun, the moon, and the stars, 
And the green leaves on the tree. 

If his wife didn’t do a day’s work in her life. 

She should ne’er be ruled by he. 

“There’s nothing like learning by experience,” 
said little Puss, Junior, to himself, as he started 
off again on his journey of adventure. “Each 
one can do his own work the best.” 


THE PRINCE IN DISGUISE 


T HE little old town was very still 

As the big round moon came up the hill 
And slowly traveled over the sky. 

Lighting the steeples slim and high. 

Yes, it was late, and Puss, Junior, was weary 
and footsore. He had traveled far that day 
and now found himself, late in the evening, 
entering a quiet little town. 

The Twinkle, Twinkle Star was out and the 
Man in the Moon was looking down—I guess 
to see if all the little children were in bed. And 
Wee Willie Winkie! Well, he had long ago run 
from house to house, crying through the lock: 
“Are the children in their beds? It’s past eight 
o’clock!” 

Puss, Junior, was at a loss where to spend the 
night. At last he stopped before a neat little 
house. His knock was answered by a little 
woman dressed in blue gingham, and, upon see¬ 
ing our small travel-stained traveler, she ex¬ 
claimed : 

“What! A cat in boots? Well, I declare!” 

“I am very hungry and tired. May I spend 
46 



After supper the little woman asked Puss to 
tell her a story, and he replied that he would 
relate one of his adventures: 

47 


THE PRINCE IN DISGUISE 


the night here?” asked Puss, wearily. “I have 
traveled far to-day,” and he thrust forward a 
foot, showing a hole in the boot. 










PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 

“One day I came to a large castle whose 
owner, strange to say, was a huge beast. I was 
badly frightened at first, but when he confided 
to me that he was really a prince under a spell 
I felt very sorry for him. Now the only way 
he could ever regain his human shape was by 
marrying the lovely daughter of a merchant¬ 
man who lived in the town near by. I don’t 
remember just how it all happened, but one 
day the merchantman and his daughter came 
to the castle and the beast gave the father a 
large sum of money to allow her to remain. 
But after a few days she grew homesick and 
returned to her home. This made the beast 
most sorrowful, for how was he then to make 
her love him and so once more become a prince? 
Day by day he waited for her return, but she 
did not come. And of course, knowing that he 
was really a prince, I felt all the more sorry for 
him. He was nearly dead with grief when at 
last she returned, and when I brought her to 
him she felt sorry to think that he had missed 
her so much, and, remembering all his kindness 
to her and her father, she said she would marry 
him. But I must tell you,” concluded Puss, 
with a merry twinkle in his eye, “I had already 
told her that he was a handsome prince in 
disguise!” 


A CAT AND A MOUSE 


P USS, JUNIOR, and Mr. Watts were walk¬ 
ing along one day together. Who Mr. 
Watts is you will hear in just a moment, for I 
am going to sing you a Mother Goose song, and 
it’s not very short, and it’s not very long! Well, 
just then a cross-looking woman appeared in the 
doorway of a small cottage and said: 

“Good Mr. Watts, 

We are troubled with rats; 

Will you drive them out of the house?” 

But good Mr. Watts said: 

“We have mice, too, in plenty. 

That feast in the pantry; 

But let them stay. 

And nibble away. 

What harm is there in a little brown mouse?” 

Which showed what a kind-hearted man he 
was. But the cross little old woman didn’t think 
so. “You’re a very disobliging sort of a per¬ 
son,” she said, and slammed the door. 

49 


PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 

“She should have asked you,” said Mr. Watts, 
with a smile at Puss. “You can catch mice, 
I warrant.” 



“I’m a bit out of practice,” admitted Puss, 
Junior. “You see, I’ve been a traveler for so 
long that I have forgotten how to be a hunter.” 

Just then a little brown mouse ran out of the 
house and said to Puss, Junior, “I’m the little 
mouse 4 under the chair. ’ ” 

50 






















A CAT AND A MOUSE 


“What do you mean?” cried Mr. Watts, in 
amazement. 

“Have you forgotten your Mother Goose?” 
asked Puss, Junior. “Don’t you remember the 
pussy-cat who went to London to see the Queen, 
and the little mouse she frightened under the 
chair?” 

“Ah, to be sure. Is this the little mouse?” 
And good Mr. Watts scratched his head re¬ 
flectively. It was strange that she was not 
afraid of Puss, Junior, but you see the little 
people in Mother Goose love Puss, Junior, just 
as much as you and I do, for the friends we 
make in childhood are the sweetest friends of all. 

“Won’t you take me back to London?” said 
the little Brown Mouse to Puss, Junior. “The 
cross woman hates me and I fear for my life.” 

“Ha, ha!” laughed Puss, Junior, not because 
of what she said, but because he thought it was 
so funny for a cat and a mouse to be traveling 
together. “I beg your pardon, I was laughing 
at the idea of a cat and a mouse traveling to¬ 
gether; not, my dear Miss Mousie, at your 
troubles. Come with me, if you wish, for 

“I’m on my way to London Town 
With little Mousie sleek and brown; 

Of her I’ll take the greatest care 
Until I bring her safely there.” 


THE QUEEN IN LONDON TOWN 


S EE, saw, sacaradown, 

Which is the way to London Town? 

One foot up, the other foot down. 

That is the way to London Town. 

And that’s the way Puss, Junior, and the little 
Brown Mouse traveled along, first one foot up, 
and then the other foot down. Puss in Boots 
and the Mousie brown. And by and by they 
came to the great big city. And they hurried 
along for they were anxious to reach the castle, 
for you remember the little Brown Mouse 
wanted to get back to the Queen, and Puss 
wished to see her Royal Highness, for the poetry 
in Mother Goose says, you know: 

Pussy-cat, pussy-cat, where have you been? 

and Puss felt that it would be very nice to be 
able to answer: 

“I’ve been to London to see the Queen.” 

At last the castle came in sight and very soon 
our two little travelers were ushered into the 
52 


THE QUEEN IN LONDON TOWN 

Queen’s presence. And she was a very sweet 
queen, indeed. She never screamed and jumped 
on a chair, as a great many ladies do when they 
see a little brown mouse. No, indeed. She 



smiled and said: “Come here, my little subjects. 
What is your errand, and what do you wish?” 

“To see our most beautiful Queen,” cried 
Puss, Junior, bowing low in a gallant manner, 
while the little Brown Mouse squeaked, “I was 
53 













PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 

homesick to get back to the castle, for I once 
lived here, my most lovely Queen.” 

Well, everybody who has met the Queen 
knows what she does, but I will tell you in case 
you haven’t met her. She ordered cake and 
cream to be served at once, and the little Brown 
Mouse had all the cake she could eat and Puss 
all the cream he could drink. And after that 
the Queen asked Puss to tell her a story about 
his travels, so Puss began to relate how he had 
been a traveler ever since the time he had dis¬ 
covered the picture of his father on the nursery 
book called Puss in Boots. “At first, you see,” 
said Puss, Junior, “I went out in search of my 
illustrious parent, and when I found him at the 
castle of my Lord of Carabas, I was indeed most 
happy, for I had searched for him a long, long 
time. But then, life at the castle became dull 
to one who was accustomed to travel, so I once 
more set out, and many’s the adventure I have 
had, your Royal Highness,” and he looked at 
the Queen with such a queer, funny little grin 
that she leaned over and picked him up and 
placed him on her lap. 

“I will make you my Page if you will remain 
at court,” she said. 

But what Puss, Junior, said I will tell you in 
the next story. 


54 


PUSS LEAVES COURT 


T TEY ding-a-ding, 

Did you hear the bells ring? 

The Parliament soldiers are gone to the King! 

Some they did laugh, some they did cry, 

To see the Parliament soldiers pass by. 

Hey ding-a-ding, and ho ding-a-ding! 

The Parliament soldiers are gone to the King; 

Some with new beavers, some with new bands; 

The Parliament soldiers are all to be hanged. 

This was terrible news to Puss, Junior, for he 
had accepted the Queen’s invitation to be Court 
Page. He was fond of the soldiers, and of 
course he didn’t want to have them hanged. 
There was one soldier in particular of whom 
he was most fond—the one who had gone to 
war with the woolen comforter his mother had 
made for him. He had kept a cooky-stand for 
some time after the war was over, but now was 
once more in service. 

“I will go to the Queen,” said Puss, Junior, 
to himself. “She will see that the soldiers are 
not hanged.” And away he went, and soon 
the Queen was giving orders that the soldiers 
5 55 


PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 


should be spared, for the King was afraid of his 
wife when she made up her mind to do a thing, 
and he felt it wiser to let her have her way than 



to lose his crown; for he had read of many a 
king who had lost his throne on account of a 
woman. 

Well, as soon as the King learned who had 
told the Queen he did everything in his power 
56 









PUSS LEAVES COURT 


to make Puss uncomfortable. And as Puss, 
Junior, was not the kind of a cat to stand any¬ 
thing like this, he bid the Queen a fond adieu 
and once more set out upon his journey of 
adventure. 

“Heigh-ho!” he whistled, “here I am once 
more traveling on! I wonder what next is com¬ 
ing.” By this time he had reached the river¬ 
front where the vessels lay at the docks and the 
sailors hurried to and fro loading them with 
their cargoes. 

And, oh! wasn’t he delighted to see the Owl 
in his “beautiful pea-green boat”! “Helloa!” 
cried Puss. “The Giant isn’t after me this 
time, but I would like to take a voyage with 
you just the same!” 

“Jump aboard!” cried the Owl, and he cast 
off the line and hoisted the sail. And by and 
by they came to an island with a great wall of 
stone around it and a queer-looking house in 
the middle. And such a queer-looking little 
man sat on the wall that Puss, Junior, began 
to laugh and sing: 

“Hey diddle-diddle. 

Our little green boat. 

She is the neatest ship afloat. 

The owl and the pussy-cat are her crew. 

As they sail away on the ocean blue!” 


HUMPTY-DUMPTY’S HOME 

N O sooner had Puss, Junior, and the little 
Owl landed from their “beautiful pea- 
green boat” than the funny little man who was 
seated on the stone wall fell down and broke 
his crown. 

Humpty-Dumpty sat on a wall, 

Humpty-Dumpty had a great fall. 

All the king’s horses, and all the king’s men. 
Cannot put Humpty-Dumpty together again. 

And so the funny-looking little man was noth¬ 
ing but an egg, after all! And, of 'course, he 
couldn’t be mended! So Puss scrambled over 
the wall and set out for the queer-looking little 
house. And when he reached it a queer little 
woman came out and said she was Mrs. Humpty- 
Dumpty. And I guess she was, for she had a 
funny little hump on her back. But she had a 
very pleasant face and two smiling eyes. 

“It’s wash-day,” she said, “but come in just 
the same. I sha’n’t be long, for Fairy Nimble 
Finger is helping me.” 

Puss had never seen such a strange kind of 
58 


HUMPTY-DUMPTY’S HOME 


house; it was topsyturvy, for the kitchen was 
on the top floor and the attic on the ground 
floor. And the chimney went into the ground, 
so that this funny little house looked as if it were 
standing on its head. 



“This is Topsyturvy House,” said Mrs. 
Humpty-Dumpty. “But how did you come to 
land on our Egg-Shell Island?” 

Before Puss, Junior, could reply, a host of 
fairies flew in and said to Mrs. Humpty-Dumpty: 
“Where is our leader, Nimble Finger? Please 
tell us quickly.” 

“ He’s washing at the tub. Don’t you hear him? 

“Rub-a-dub-dub, rub-a-dub-dub! 

Monday’s the day to scrub, scrub, scrub!” 

59 



PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 

Then all the Fairies began singing: 

“Nimble Finger, leave the tub. 

Rub-a-dub! Rub-a-dub! 

Evil news we have to tell, 

Humpty-Dumpty broke his shell!” 

“Oh, deary, mercy me!” cried Mrs. Humpty- 
Dumpty when she heard this. “How will he 
ever get home?” 

“Leave that to me,” cried Nimble Finger. 
“It is more important I go to him than to finish 
the wash,” and he flew off with his small sub¬ 
jects. This was too much for Puss, Junior’s, 
curiosity, and he bowed to Mrs. Humpty- 
Dumpty and ran down to the shore, followed 
by the Owl. Of course he was anxious to see 
how Nimble Finger could mend an egg. And 
so would anybody I’ve ever known, for I don’t 
believe any one but a fairy could do it. 

Well, the first thing Nimble Finger did was 
to get the egg back into the shell, and after that 
he waved his wand over it and sang: 

“Come together, milk-white shell, 

Then Humpty-Dumpty will be well!” 

And would you believe it, in a few minutes 
the egg was as good as new, and new eggs are 
always good because old eggs are always bad!” 


60 


EGG-SHELL ISLAND 


“AND now, Sir Cat,” said Fairy Nimble Finger, 
“if you will come with me I will show 
you some of the sights of Egg-Shell Island.” 
So Puss said good-by to the Owl, who flew back 
to his “beautiful pea-green boat,” and set out 
with Nimble Finger. 

“You’ve just seen Topsyturvy House,” said 
the Fairy, “so now I’m going to show you a 
Tittle crooked house.’” And just then Puss, 
Junior, began to grin, for 

There was a crooked man, 

And he walked a crooked mile. 

And he found a crooked sixpence 
Against a crooked stile; 

He bought a crooked cat. 

Who caught a crooked mouse. 

And they all lived together 
In a little crooked house. 

And I don’t blame Puss the least bit for smil¬ 
ing, for the way the crooked little man walked 
was enough to set any one laughing. He couldn’t 
go very fast, and when Puss and Nimble Finger 
61 


PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 


came up to him he was nearly home, so he asked 
them in, and of course Puss accepted, for he 



was curious to see the crooked cat and the 
crooked mouse. 

Q2 
































EGG-SHELL ISLAND 


As they entered his little crooked house the 
little crooked man smiled a crooked smile and said: 

“Now don’t think for a moment because I 
only paid a crooked sixpence for my crooked 
cat that she isn’t a good mouser. The very 
first night she caught a crooked mouse, and it’s 
very hard to catch crooked things in this world, 
let me tell you, although it’s very easy to do 
them.” Which is very true when you think it 
over. 

“I’m sure I shall like your cat,” said Puss, 
Junior. “Indeed, all the Mother Goose cats I 
have met have been charming, with one excep¬ 
tion, and he turned out to be very nice in the 
end. I’m thinking of the Robber Kitten, you 
know.” 

“Oh yes,” laughed the crooked man; “he 
was crooked, only in another way.” Well, at 
this moment the door opened and a cat came 
into the room. “This is my dear little crooked 
cat,” said the crooked man. 

“I’m very glad to meet you,” she said to 
Puss, Junior, and Nimble Finger. 

Then they all sat down and had some tea out 
of a little crooked teapot that poured the tea 
out of the back of the handle instead of the 
spout. But the little crooked mouse wouldn’t 
come out of her hole, for she was afraid of a 
cat who wasn’t crooked, and Puss, Junior, was 
so very tall and straight! 


CROOKED ADVENTURES 


I DIDN’T quite finish my story about the 
little crooked man and the little crooked 
house. I was trying to remember what hap¬ 
pened next. Well, all of a sudden the crooked 
cat jumped out of the window. “What’s the 
matter now?” exclaimed the little crooked man, 
and he ran out into the yard, followed by Puss, 
Junior, and Fairy Nimble Finger. Of course 
everything was crooked as could be in the yard. 
The apple-tree was twisted and bent, and the 
little barn was one-sided, and the clothes-line 
had kinks in it. Even the little robin which 
the crooked cat was trying to catch was crooked, 
and the eggs in its little crooked nest weren’t 
round at all, but a queer, kinky shape. 

“Come here, kitty,” cried the little crooked 
man; “don’t you hurt my crooked little robin. 
He and Mrs. Robin are the only two little 
crooked birds on Egg-Shell Island.” The crooked 
cat looked very much ashamed of herself. 
“There are plenty of other kinds of birds if 
you must go a-hunting, but you let my crooked 
birds alone!” and the little crooked man looked 
64 


CROOKED ADVENTURES 


very cross, which is a sort of crooked way of 
looking when you come to think of it, isn’t it? 

Then they went into the little barn, where a 
little crooked horse was eating hay. His legs 
were so crooked that Puss wondered how he 



could trot, but the little crooked man explained 
that he was a single-footer; that is, he put only 
one foot on the ground at a time, for fear he’d 
get all four legs tangled up. After this they all 
sat down under the crooked apple-tree. 

“And now won’t you tell us one of your ad¬ 
ventures?” said the little crooked man, with a 
funny little smile that turned the corner of his 
mouth up in a crooked way. So Puss, Junior, 
thought a moment and then began: 

“One bright morning, a short time after I had 
'65 





PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 

left Mother Goose in her dear little house in the 
woods, I came to a broad highway. It was 
very dusty and by noon I was tired, for you see 
I had been riding with Mother Goose for some 
time on her Gander, and it was hard to travel 
again on foot. Well, suddenly Yankee-Doodle 
came riding by, on his dappled pony, a feather 
stuck upon his cap, and trimmed with macaroni! 

“‘Where’s your horse?’ he asked, and when 
I laughed and said I had none, he asked me to 
climb up behind him. So I jumped up and 
away we went. Well, we rode so fast that we 
almost ran into the Man in the Moon, who came 
tumbling down to ask his way to Norwich. 
Yankee-Doodle Dandy just pulled up in time, 
and the pony slid on his hind feet and almost 
lost two shoes. And the Man in the Moon was 
very angry, and so was Yankee-Doodle Dandy. 
‘You came down too soon,’ he cried; ‘why didn’t 
you wait until we were out of the way?’ 

“‘Oh, that’s very easy to say,’ said the Man 
in the Moon, ‘but you just try it yourself.’ And 
then he insisted upon going south, although we 
told him he’d burn his mouth by eating cold 
plum porridge.” 

Then Puss stood up and said good-by to the 
little crooked man in his little crooked house, 
and winked at the crooked cat and the little 
crooked mouse, and set off once more with 
Fairy Nimble Finger by his side. 

66 


FAIRY NIMBLE FINGER’S GIFT 


P USS, JUNIOR, and Fairy Nimble Finger 
traveled for some distance over Egg-Shell 
Island until they came to a tall tree where sat 
a young man and a young woman. Then Nim¬ 
ble Finger whispered to Puss, “Now I will make 
you invisible,” and, presto! something happened, 
although Puss felt just the same. 

There was a little man 
Who wooed a little maid. 

And he said: “Little maid, will you wed, wed, wed? 

I have little more to say. 

So will you aye or nay? 

For the least said is soonest mended, ded, ded, ded.” 

The little maid replied: 

“Should I be your little bride. 

Pray what must we have for to eat, eat, eat? 

Will the flame that you’re so rich in 
Light a fire in the kitchen? 

Or the little god of Love turn the spit, spit, spit?’’ 

Nimble Finger nudged Puss with his hand. 
“A very practical young woman. The Fairies 
at her birth must have given her good common 
67 


PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 

sense, which is a fine gift, is it not, my good 
Sir Cat?” 

“My dear Nimble Finger,” said kind Puss, 
Junior, “if you have the power to render me in¬ 



visible, have you not the power to turn this tree 
into a pretty cottage where the little man and 
little maid may dwell forever in happiness?” 

Nimble Finger smiled and replied: “I have. 
Puss, Junior. We will give them a cottage 
where the little god of Love can be cook and 
king at the same time.” 

68 








FAIRY NIMBLE FINGER’S GIFT 


“Yes, yes,” cried Puss, “let me see the tree 
turn into a cottage.” And would you believe 
it, the trunk grew wider and wider and the 
knot-holes became little windows, and the 
branches overhead formed themselves into a 
roof, and a little red chimney grew on top from 
which smoke began to come out. 

“Step inside the doorway,” said Nimble 
Finger. And when Puss had done this, the 
Fairy said: “Now I’m going to make you visible 
again. Then you tell the young man that you 
will give him this house if he will promise to 
learn by heart every rhyme in Mother Goose. I 
will tell the young woman that if she wishes to 
be happy she must say this little verse every 
day to the fairies: 

“Keep our little house, I pray. 

Safe at night as well as day. 

Fairies, with your magic power. 

Make me happy every hour; 

Help me in each thing I do 
Always to be good and true. ” 

And the young man was so happy when Puss 
gave him the house that he asked Puss to stay 
with him always. And the young woman was 
so pleased with what Fairy Nimble Finger told 
her that she blushed and promised always to 
make the young man a most dutiful wife. 


A NARROW ESCAPE 


W ELL, by and by, after Puss, Junior, and 
Fairy Nimble Finger had traveled all over 
Egg-Shell Island, Puss said he wanted to get 
back to the mainland. So Nimble Finger stood 
by the water and sang: 

“Swan, Swan from over the sea, 

Come to the shore for Puss and me. 

Come with your wings like a snow-white sail. 

And take us across before the gale.” 

Then up swam a beautiful white swan and 
Puss got on its back, but Nimble Finger re¬ 
mained on the island, for he said he wished to 
see that the young man and woman who were 
to be married the next day were comfortably 
fixed in the small cottage I told you about in 
the last story. 

The Swan then swam away with Puss, but 
they had not gone very far when the water 
grew rough and the wind blew, and it was all 
the Swan could do to swim. 

“Gracious me!” said Puss, Junior, “I’m afraid, 
my dear Swan, we’ll never get to land.” 

70 


A NARROW ESCAPE 


“It’s going to be very hard work, for I can 
hardly keep moving ahead, the wind blows so 



hard,” and pretty soon the poor Swan became 
so tired he couldn’t swim any more at all, and 
6 71 







PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 

he drifted farther and farther away from the 
land until he and Puss, Junior, were ’way, ’way 
out on the big wide sea. The spray dashed over 
them and wet them to the skin; I mean it wet 
Puss, Junior, to the skin. Of course the Swan 
didn’t get wet, for his feathers are meant to 
shed the water. 

“It looks pretty bad for us,” said little Puss, 
Junior, bravely, and he felt sure unless some 
one picked them up very soon they would be 
drowned, but he didn’t cry. 

“Keep up your courage,” said the Swan. “As 
long as I can float we’ll be all right.” 

By and by, when things were looking very 
bad, they saw a boat coming toward them. 
Puss waved his cap and soon the boat was along¬ 
side and they were taken aboard. The captain 
was Bobby Shafto, with silver buckles on his 
knee. And when Puss, Junior, told him that 
it was only a short time ago that he had met 
the pretty girl in the lighthouse who had sung 
the song, 


“Bobby Shafto’s gone to sea. 
Silver buckles on his knee. 

He’ll come back and marry me,” 


Bobby Shafto said: “Well, I’m glad she’s well 
and waiting for me. It won’t be long before 
we’re there. You shall come to the wedding, 
my dear Puss, Junior, and so shall your friend 

72 


A NARROW ESCAPE 


the good Swan.” And after a while the boat 
came up to the lighthouse and anchored near by, 
and Bobby Shafto, with Puss and the Swan, got 
into a small boat and rowed up to the beach 
where the pretty girl stood waving her handker¬ 
chief at them and singing: 

“He’s come back to marry me. 

Pretty Bobby Shafto!” 


CROSS-PATCH 


ELL, Bobby Shafto and the pretty girl 



vv who kept the lighthouse were married, 
and Puss, Junior, went to the wedding, and 
when it was over he kissed the bride and once 
more set out upon his journey of adventure. 
As for the Swan, he swam back to Egg-Shell 
Island and told Fairy Nimble Finger all about 
the wedding and the beautiful presents. 

After Puss, Junior, had traveled a long ways 
he came to Westminster Bridge, and the man 
who took the toll looked at him and said: 

“As I was going o’er Westminster Bridge 
I met with a Westminster scholar; 

He pulled off his cap, an’ drew off his glove. 

And wished me a very good morrow. 


What is his name?” 


“Oh, that’s easy,” cried little Puss, Junior; 
“Andrew is his name.” 

“Well answered, my good Sir Cat,” said the 
toll-man. “You may cross the bridge without 
paying toll, for you are the first person to-day 
to answer my riddle.” 

“It’s a good thing I know my Mother Goose 


CROSS-PATCH 


so well,” said Puss, Junior, to himself as he 
tramped over the bridge, his red-topped boots 
making a loud noise on the planks and his spurs 
clanking away at a great rate. And when he 



reached the other side the sun was going down 
behind the hill. 

“ Another day gone,” said our small traveler 
to himself. “Now I must find a place to sleep 
for the night,” and he looked about him. Across 
the way was a small house, and toward this he 
hurried, and when he knocked on the door a 
cross voice cried out: 


75 























PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 


“Come in, neighbor.” 

By the fire sat a cross-looking, little old 
woman, and near at hand was her spinning- 
wheel. Just then a parrot began to speak, and 
this is what the naughty bird said: 

“ Cross-Patch, draw the latch. 

Sit by the fire and spin; 

Take a cup, and drink it up. 

Then call your neighbors in.” 

The old woman looked up at Puss. “That 
Parrot needs punishing, but I’m too tired spin¬ 
ning to do another thing to-day. What do you 
want, Master Cat?” 

“I’m a traveler, my good woman,” our small 
hero replied, “and I would spend the night be¬ 
neath a roof, so I knocked upon your door.” 

“Call your neighbors in!” cried the Parrot to 
the old woman. 

“Be quiet, you naughty bird!” said the old 
lady. Then turning to Puss, she said, “What 
is your name, Master Cat?” 

And when Puss, Junior, told her who he was 
the old woman began to smile, and, would you 
believe, she didn’t look like a cross-patch at all. 

“You shall spend the night here,” she said, 
“for I once met your famous father. Puss in 
Boots, and I am honored to be able to offer 
shelter to his son. Puss, Junior.” 


76 


PUSS IS KNIGHTED 


T'NOODLE, doodle, doo. 

The Princess lost her shoe; 

Her Highness hopped— 

The fiddler stopped, 

Not knowing what to do. 

Here was a pretty state of things, and if Puss, 
Junior, had not found the little shoe I don’t 
suppose her Highness would ever have danced 
again or the fiddler ever played any more. 

Well, Puss, Junior, bowed very low when he 
handed the little slipper to the Princess, and she 
smiled and thanked him, and then—I’m telling 
you exactly what happened—she caught up Puss 
and commenced dancing around while the fiddler 
played away till he broke one of his strings and 
had to stop. Puss, Junior, was all out of breath, 
and the little Princess was as rosy as a rose. 

Then the King came in and said, “Whom 
have we here?” 

“Puss in Boots, Junior, your Highness,” an¬ 
swered our little traveler. 

And the King said; “I will make you a Knight, 
my good Sir Cat, for you have found my little 
77 


PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 


daughter’s slipper. You shall be the Knight 
of the Silver Slipper.” 

This pleased Puss tremendously, for ever since 
meeting Sir Launcelot of the Lake he had longed 
to be a Knight. And now at last he was one! 



After that a great banquet was spread, and 
when this was over the King asked Puss to tell 
one of his adventures. 

“I’m not much of a story-teller,” began Puss, 
Junior, curling his whiskers as he tried to think 
of something that would interest his royal audi¬ 
ence, “although I have met with many an ad¬ 
venture in my travels. Once, when I was riding 
78 







PUSS IS KNIGHTED 


on my Good Gray Horse through a thick woods, 
I was halted by a little fairy, and, thinking it a 
joke on the part of my small highwayman, I 
laughed at his boldness. Whereupon he blew 
on his horn and immediately I was surrounded 
by myriads of fairies and before I could escape 
I and my Good Gray Horse were bound hand 
and foot. I know not what would have become 
of me had not three woodsmen run to my rescue 
and cut the cords that bound me. That night, 
on reaching an inn, the host told me that once 
before, many years ago, a traveler had been held 
up in those same woods by the fairies.” 

“Zounds!” exclaimed the King. “I have 
heard of Robin Hood and his merry men doing 
deeds of this kind, but never have I heard of 
fairies who acted thus!” 

Puss, Junior, grinned and curled his whiskers 
again. “But there is more to my tale,” he said. 
“That very night they stole my Good Gray 
Horse from the inn stable and it took me a 
precious time before I regained him. Had the 
innkeeper not lent me his bicycle, I never would 
haver overtaken him; but ‘all’s well that ends 
well,’” and Puss rose and bowed to his royal 
audience, who cried: 

“Long live Puss in Boots, Junior, Knight of 
the Silver Slipper!” 


79 


TWO PRINCESSES 

O NE day, as Puss entered a wood, he saw a 
lovely princess on her horse listening to a 
little bird who was singing: 

“ If you want to be happy, be good, be good! ” 

“But I am happy,” cried the little Princess, 
patting her horse’s neck. 

“What!” exclaimed the little bird, looking at 
her closely. “Aren’t you the Princess Heloise?” 
“No, indeed. I am the Princess Elaine.” 

“ Strange!” cried the bird. “ I certainly thought 
you were she. But now that I come to think 
of it, you have blue eyes and she has black.” 

Just then up rode the other Princess, who 
said, with a laugh, “Every time I see this little 
bird he tells me if I want to be happy I must be 
good.” 

“But aren’t you?” asked the Princess Elaine. 
“I don’t know,” replied the other Princess; 
“that is, I don’t believe I am, because I’m 
always wanting something different. Are you?” 
“I never thought about it,” answered the 
80 


TWO PRINCESSES 


Princess Elaine, “but I think I’ll try. Let us 
both come back here in a week and tell each 
other how we have succeeded.” 

Then they said good-by and rode away, and 
the pretty bird flapped his wings and flew off 



into the forest. And Puss, Junior, also went his 
way. But he was most curious to learn what 
the little Princesses would say to each other 
when they met. And it happened, some time 
81 







PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 

after, that as he sat beneath a tree he heard a 
little bird singing overhead: 

“ If you want to be happy, be good, be good!” 

“Tell me, little bird,” cried Puss, Junior, “did 
the two little Princesses meet again?” 

“Yes, indeed,” he chirped, “but they hardly 
recognized each other. ‘Oh, how you have 
changed!’ exclaimed the Princess Heloise. ‘You 
look so happy!’ ‘And so do you,’ cried the 
Princess Elaine. ‘Your eyes fairly dance and 
your lips smile.’” Then the little bird paused 
to pick up a crumb while Puss hummed the tune 
of the song: 

“If you w’ant to be happy, be good, be good!” 

“Well, what happened after that?” he asked. 

“Well,” said the little bird, “I flew over to the 
two Princesses and said, ‘You both are more 
beautiful than ever, for the secret of my song is 
this: goodness is beauty, and if you want to 
be happy you must be good.’ Then they rode 
away smiling. ‘Thank you, little bird,’ they 
called to me. But I have never seen them since, 
although their praises are sung by every one, 
for they are considered the most lovely prin¬ 
cesses in the world.” 


PUSS SOLVES A RIDDLE 


“ marble walls as white as milk, 

Lined with a skin as soft as silk, 

Within a fountain crystal clear, 

A golden apple doth appear. 

No doors there are to this stronghold. 

Yet thieves break in and steal the gold.” 

This was a hard riddle for Puss, Junior, to 
answer. For a moment he almost forgot his 
Mother Goose —that is, he almost forgot that this 
little poem was in Mother Goose's Nursery 
Rhymes . 

“Let me think a moment,” he said to the 
little Yellow Hen who had asked the riddle. 
And then she began to laugh, and she laughed 
so long that Puss suddenly remembered the an¬ 
swer, and cried: “An egg! An egg!” Then the 
little Hen stopped laughing and went inside and 
laid a beautiful egg in her nest just to show Puss 
what a wonderful little hen she was. 

But he had seen lots and lots of strange sights 
and had met giants and fairies and other people, 
so he said good-by and went upon his way. 
And the little Yellow Hen felt very badly, for 


PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 

everybody in the barn-yard knew her riddle and 
there was nobody to ask, so she went back to 
her nest and sat there for many long days. And 



by and by twelve little chicks came out of their 
shells. And after they grew a little older she 
asked them the riddle. 

But, of course. Puss didn’t know this. He 
traveled on until he came to the Fat Man of 
Bombay who was smoking that sunshiny day 




PUSS SOLVES A RIDDLE 

when the snipe grabbed his pipe and without 
saying a word flew away like a horrid old thief 
of a bird. 

“Helloa!” said Puss. “How did you get your 
pipe back?” 

“That’s a long story,” said the Fat Man of 
Bombay. “But I did finally. Little Dog Buff, 
who spilt his master’s snuff, found it and brought 
it to me. Wasn’t that nice of him?” 

“It was, indeed,” said Puss. “But I thought 
you said it was a long story?” 

“I’m only telling you the ending,” said the 
Fat Man, between puffs. “I haven’t told you 
how many ‘Lost and Found’ ads. I looked 
through, nor how many rewards I offered, nor 
how I hunted for it myself, nor how I asked 
every snipe I met if he had seen one of his own 
kind smoking a pipe. No, sir; I haven’t told 
you half what I went through,” and the Fat Man 
heaved a great sigh, and then puffed rings into 
the air, and sighed again. “I wouldn’t lose this 
pipe again for all of ‘India’s coral strands,’ he 
cried, “and I come from Bombay and know 
something about coral.” 

“Well, good-by,” said Puss, who was growing 
tired of all this talk, and away he went, down 
the road, whistling merrily: 

“Oh, who would be a stay-at-home 
When he can have the chance to roam!” 


85 


PRETTY MAID SINGS “ROCK-A-BY” 


“AS I was going up Pippen Hill, 

Pippen Hill was dirty; 

There I met a pretty Miss, 

And she dropped me a courtesy. 

Little Miss, pretty Miss, 

Blessings light upon you. 

If I had half a crown a day. 

I’d spend it all upon you.” 

“Well, you are a generous little cat,” cried the 
Pretty Maid, as Puss, Junior, finished this 
Mother Goose song. 

“Mother Goose is a dear old lady,” said Puss, 
Junior, sitting down by the Pretty Maid. “I 
have been to her little house in the woods and 
I have also ridden on her Gander. A very fine 
bird he is, I can assure you.” 

“How exciting! You are a great traveler,” 
and the Pretty Maid looked at Puss with much 
admiration. “Come, tell me one of your ad¬ 
ventures, won’t you?” 

“Which one shall it be, I wonder?” said Puss, 
with a grin. “I supped one night in a fox’s den. 
Shall I tell you that one?” 

86 


PRETTY MAID SINGS “ROCK-A-BY” 


“What else?” asked the Pretty Maid, with a 
pout. “I don’t care much about foxes.” 

“ The rocka - by - baby - upon - the - tree - top 



is another,” cried Puss, “and the Jolly Miller 
upon the River Dee, and, let me see—” 

“Tell me the rock-a-by story,” said the Pretty 
Maid. 

7 


87 







PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 

“Well, it was this way. We all fell out of a 
balloon into a tree and there was the rock-a-by 
baby in its cradle, swinging away. You see, I 
was at a Fair and with a number of people 
had gone up in a balloon, so that’s how we 
happened to fall into the tree-top. Right close 
to the tree was an old mill, and the miller and I 
became good friends. He told me the mother 
of the baby every morning hung the cradle 
upon the tree-top before she went to work. 
And when her day’s work was over she carried 
him home. She was a kind little mother, and 
that very evening she came and lifted him out 
of the cradle. I wish I could remember the 
lullaby she sang. It seems to me it went like 
this: 

“‘Come, little baby, from off the tree-top; 

Mother has finished her work at the shop. 

Now it is evening, she comes for her boy; 

Weary work’s over, time now for joy. 

Laugh, little baby, for mother is nigh. 

Baby boy’s out of his cradle so high. 

Safe in his mother’s arms, little babe boy; 

Weary work’s over, time now for joy.’” 

As Puss finished, the Pretty Maid picked him 
up in her arms and carried him into her cottage. 
“I’m going to sing you to sleep,” she said, sitting 
down in a rocking-chair. 

88 


PRETTY MAID SINGS “ROCK-A-BY 


“Rock-a-by, Pussy, rock-a-by-rock, 

Go to sleep hearing the tick-tocky clock. 

The sleepy old clock, the drowsy old clock, 
Ticky-tock, ticky-tock, ticky-tock, tock.” 

And in a few minutes little Puss, Junior, was 
sound asleep. 


LITTLE MOON MOUSE 

“I TERE sits the Lord Mayor, 

A * Here sit his two men. 

Here sits the cock. 

Here sits the hen. 

Here sit the little chickens. 

Here they run in, 

Chinchopper, chinchopper, 

Chinchopper, chin!” 

sang the Pretty Maid, tickling Puss, Junior, on 
his forehead, eyes, cheeks, nose, mouth, and 
chin, which woke him up, and surprised him, 
too, for of course he had forgotten that he had 
gone to sleep in her lap when she had sung him 
the tick-tocky lullaby. Then he curled his 
whiskers and grinned at her, which made her 
laugh, and after that he jumped down and said 
he must be on his way. So off he went, all 
ready for another adventure in Mother Goose 
Land. Well, after he had traveled all day, 
toward night he found himself in a thick wood. 
There was no hut in sight, so he curled himself 
up in a hollow tree and was soon fast asleep. 
Now it happened that the Man in the Moon 

90 


LITTLE MOON MOUSE 


was looking out of his west window, which was 
directly over the wood, and when he saw Puss, 
Junior, fast asleep, he said to a little mouse who 



was nibbling some green cheese, “Little Mouse, 
run down on one of my moonbeams and wake 
up Puss, Junior, for I wish to speak to him.” 

“Where is he?” asked the little Mouse. “Oh, 
dear! Why do you send me away from this 
91 






PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 

moon-green cheese to wake up a cat? I’m afraid 
of cats.” 

“Nonsense! You need have no fear of Puss, 
Junior. He is no ordinary cat. Besides, you 
needn’t run into his paws.” 

So, the little Mouse left off nibbling the 
cheese and slid down a moonbeam. But she 
didn’t go very near Puss. She gave a little 
squeak, which woke him up with a start. 

“Who was that?” he asked, sleepily, rubbing 
his eyes. 

“The little Moon Mouse.” 

Puss grinned, for he was now awake. Then 
he curled his whiskers and pulled on his red- 
topped boots, for he had taken them off before 
going to sleep. 

“Well, what can I do for you?” he said. 

“The Man in the Moon sent me down to wake 
you up,” she replied, “but he didn’t tell me 
why.” 

“That’s strange,” said Puss, and he looked 
up at the Moon. He could just make out the 
face of the Man, and the more he looked the 
more he felt, in a strange sort of way, that the 
Man in the Moon wanted to see him. 

“What shall I do?” asked the little Moon 
Mouse. 

“Tell your master I will call on him as soon 
as I can,” said Puss, and after that the Mouse 
ran up on a moonbeam and Puss was left alone. 

92 


MRS. CUCKOO SINGS A SONG 


W HEN Puss, Junior, awoke the next morn¬ 
ing he was surprised to find his red-topped 
boots on, for he always took them off before 
going to sleep. Then, suddenly, he remembered 
all about the little Moon Mouse who had slid 
down the moonbeam to wake him up, and that 
he had hurriedly put on his boots while talk¬ 
ing to her. But he couldn’t remember another 
thing after that, and it was now morning, and 
everything looked so different and wide awake! 

“Oh dear!” said Puss to himself, “I believe 
I was only dreaming!” 

And he was right, and I was just going to tell 
you so, only he said it first. 

Well, all of a sudden a cuckoo repeated aloud 
this Mother Goose rhyme: 

“In April, 

Come he will. 

In May 

He sings all day. 

In June 

He changes his tune. 

In July 

He prepares to fly. 

In August 
Go he must.” 

93 


PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 


“How about the month of September?” 

“Oh, that’s another story,” answered the 
Cuckoo. 

“Well, let me give you a little advice,” said 
Puss, with a grin. “If ever again you lay one of 



your big eggs in Robin Redbreast’s nest I’ll 
punish you. You ought to be ashamed of your¬ 
self not to make your own nest and to bother 
other people the way you do.” But the Cuckoo 
flapped her wings and flew away, for she felt 
dreadfully mortified at what Puss, Junior, had 
said. But I don’t believe she ever built a nest 
for herself, for I’ve never heard of a cuckoo who 
did. 

Then Puss, Junior, got up and walked across 
94 






MRS. CUCKOO SINGS A SONG 


the meadow where the yellow cowslips glittered 
in the grass and the spring wind sang little songs 
through the tree-tops. 

Goosey, Goosey Gander had just come up 
from the pond and stood waiting for Puss, 
Junior.. “Well, I declare,” he cried, “it’s a long 
time since I last met you.” 

“It is,” said Puss. “Where have you been 
wandering lately? Have you been thrown 
down-stairs again?” 

“It wasn’t I who was thrown down the stairs,” 
replied Goosey Gander, haughtily. “It was the 
Old Man Who Wouldn’t Say His Prayers.” 

“So it was,” cried Puss; “I forgot for a 
moment. I beg your pardon.” And just then 
the old man himself tried to grab the Gander 
by the left leg. But, oh dear! There isn’t 
enough room in this story to tell you what hap¬ 
pened after that, so please wait for the next one. 


GOOSEY GANDER LEARNS TO FLY 


“ T"NON’T you touch Goosey, Goosey Gander!” 

U cried Puss, Junior. And the Old Man 
Who Wouldn’t Say His Prayers looked at our 
small hero and said: 

“Why not, my good Sir Cat? He belongs to 
me.” 

“Well, I don’t care if he does,” said Puss, 
stoutly. “I’ll not have him hurt.” And this so 
pleased the Gander that he flapped his wings as 
if he were about to fly away. And then a bright 
idea came to Puss. 

“Can’t you fly as well as Mother Goose’s 
Gander?” he asked. 

“I never tried,” replied Goosey, Goosey 
Gander. 

“Let me get on your back,” said Puss, “and 
then you fly away, for I am tired traveling all by 
myself.” So the Gander gave a great flap with 
his wings and, sure enough, up he went in the 
air as gracefully as you please, with little Puss, 
Junior, on his back. And when they had flown 
for over a mile, the Gander said: 

“Pretty good for a beginner, eh?” 


GOOSEY GANDER LEARNS TO FLY 

“I should say so,” laughed Puss, Junior. “I 
once had a good gray horse, but I think you are 
just as fine a steed.” 

“Now don’t flatter me,” said Goosey, Goosey 
Gander. “I’ll do my best, but I may fail, for 



I’m not used to flying and may get dreadfully 
tired pretty soon.” 

But he didn’t. He flew on and on until the 
sun went down behind the western hills, and the 
Moon came up out of the east. And then, all of 
a sudden, Puss remembered his dream about the 
97 











PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 

little Moon Mouse and the Man in the Moon, so 
he whispered to Goosey, Goosey Gander: 

“Let’s go to the Moon, 

Where the little stars croon. 

And the clouds are so fleecy and white. 

Oh, hurry, I pray. 

For gone is the day. 

And dark, oh, so dark is the night!” 

Well, pretty soon they came to the Moon. 
It seemed rather funny not to have a path lead¬ 
ing up to the front door, but the moonbeams 
made a very nice sort of a silver bridge, so the 
Gander waddled along until the Man in the 
Moon, who had been looking out of a window, 
ran down and opened the door. 

“Come in, my friends/’ he said. 

The little Moon Mouse left off nibbling her 
green cheese and said to Puss: “So you thought 
it was a dream, did you? You never really 
thought I slid down the moonbeam and talked 
to you?” 

“Oh, dear, I’m so sleepy now I can’t think,” 
said little Puss, Junior. And do you know, the 
Man in the Moon lifted him up and tucked him 
away in a bed. And then he gave the Gander 
some corn, and after that he closed the front 
door and went to bed himself. But the little 
Mouse stayed up all night to eat the green 
cheese. 


98 


THE SUNBEAM’S RIDDLE 


I T was two or three days after Puss, Junior, 
had visited the Man in the Moon that he 
was riding along in the air on Goosey, Goosey 
Gander, when he heard a voice singing: 

“Hick-a-more, Hack-a-more, 

On the King’s kitchen door, 

All the King’s horses 

And all the King’s men 

Couldn’t drive Hick-a-more, Hack-a-more 

Off the King’s kitchen door.” 

Goosey, Goosey Gander blinked his eyes, for 
the Sun was shining very brightly. “It’s a little 
sunbeam singing,” he whispered. “He’s asking 
you a riddle?” 

“Well, Master Sunbeam,” laughed Puss, 
Junior, “I don’t quite see you, for there is so 
much sunlight all around, “but if you are ask¬ 
ing me a riddle I’ll tell you the answer.” 

Then the same little voice cried: 

“Hick-a-more, Hack-a-more, 

On the King’s kitchen door,” 

99 


PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 


Well, by this time the Gander had flown down 
to a stately castle, where he alighted in the 
garden, and as Puss looked at the kitchen door, 
it shone so brightly in the sun that Puss knew 
the answer at once. 

“Oh-ho! little Sunbeam. I know the answer. 
It’s Sunshine!” 

And then the good-natured Gander laughed 
and the little Sunbeam tinkled. That is, it 
sounded like a tinkle when he laughed. 



4 4 You have guessed right. Puss, Junior. 
Hick-a-more, Hack-a-more is the Sunshine on 
the door.” 

And after that Puss looked in a window of the 
castle and saw the Queen in her parlor eating 
bread and honey, and this made Puss feel so 
hungry that he asked Goosey Gander where 
100 









THE SUNBEAM’S MIDDLE 

they should go to get something to eat; and 
just then a little bird commenced to sing: 

“Little fishie in the brook. 

Papa catch him with a hook. 

Mamma fry him in the pan, 

Johnny eat him like a man.” 

“How hungry that makes me feel!” cried little 
Puss, Junior. 

“Well, come right in and have some fish,” 
said kind old Dame Trot, who at that moment 
looked out of her house and saw Puss. 

Well, it didn’t take him long to seat himself 
at the table, and after he had tucked the napkin 
under his chin he began to eat. And at first he 
was so hungry that he didn’t notice three little 
kittens peeping at him through the half-open 
door. And just then in came Dame Trot with 
another piece of fish. “Shoo! you naughty kit¬ 
tens! Don’t you bother Sir Puss, Junior!” and 
of course after that they scampered outdoors to 
play hide-and-seek under the lilac-bushes. 

“I’ll go out and give Goosey Gander some 
corn,” said Puss when he had finished. So he 
stepped outside, when, all of a sudden, the Dog 
that Worried the Cat and who lived in the 
house that Jack built ran through the gate and 
frightened the little kittens almost to death. 

“What are you doing here?” asked Puss, 
angrily, and he drew his sword. And then that 
tease of a dog ran away. 

101 


BLACKBIRD FLIES AWAY 


W ELL, when Dame Trot heard the noise 
she ran out in the garden to see what 
was the matter, but the Dog that Worried the 
Cat had gone, as I told you in the last story, 
but, oh, dear me! all of a sudden a Blackbird 
flew down and tried to bite off her nose. And 
when Goosey, Goosey Gander saw the Black¬ 
bird he gave a tremendous hiss, which frightened 
the naughty Blackbird away, and he didn’t bite 
off Dame Trot’s nose. I knew he wouldn’t, 
anyway, for she had her hands over her face. 

“Really, I’m afraid to hang out the clothes in 
the garden,” she said. “That dreadful Black¬ 
bird is flying around here all the time.” 

“Leave him to me,” cried Puss, pulling out 
his sword. “I will cut off his head the first 
chance I get.” But the Blackbird must have 
heard him, for he didn’t come around again, and 
by and by Puss got on Goosey, Goosey Gander’s 
back and rode away. And by and by they came 
to the wood where lived the Golden Goose, who 
was a very rich relative of Goosey Gander. 

“Be very polite,” said Goosey, Goosey Gander, 
102 


BLACKBIRD FLIES AWAY 

“for she is going to leave me all her money, and 
I’ll be a Goosefeller or a Ganderbilt some day.” 

Just then the Golden Goose came out of her 
beautiful castle and commenced to sing: 

‘‘Cocks crow in the morn 
To tell us to rise, 

And he who lies late 
Will never be wise. 

For early to bed 
And early to rise 
Is the way to be healthy 
And wealthy and wise. 

“You see, I know Mother Goose,” she said, 
bowing to Puss, Junior. 

“And is she a relative of yours?” asked Puss. 

“She is, indeed,” replied the Golden Goose. 
“And she is very fond of me, too, I can tell you, 
for she knows I am going to leave all my money 
to Goosey, Goosey Gander, and he is her favorite 
goose next to her own dear Gander.” 

Then Puss bowed and, tickling Goosey, Goosey 
Gander under his left wing, rode off on his flying 
steed, up in the air and over the woods until 
they came in sight of a stately castle. At first 
Puss, Junior, did not recognize it, but when the 
Gander alighted on the marble steps leading up 
to the front doors, Puss remembered that he had 
been there before. It was Bluebeard’s castle, 
the wicked Bluebeard. 

8 103 


PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 

“Ah! I will see whether he is still unkind to 
his wives,” said Puss to himself, rapping on the 
door with his sword-hilt. 

“Where is Sir Bluebeard?” demanded Puss, 
haughtily, as the great doors swung slowly open. 



“Here!” cried a gruff voice, and Bluebeard 
himself strode forward. 

104 













































BLACKBIRD FLIES AWAY 


But Puss was not afraid. “I was passing, 
merely passing on my way,” he said, with a 
grin, “and stopped to inquire whether you had 
reformed since my last visit.” 

But what the wicked Bluebeard replied I will 
tell you in the next story. 


WHAT CHANGED BLUEBEARD’S 
BEARD? 


B LUEBEARD looked at Puss, Junior, and 
then at Goosey Gander, and then he 
stroked his beard. And do you know, his beard 
wasn’t blue any more? And his eyes had a 
very kind look, and the more Puss thought it 
over the more he was puzzled. And all this time 
Bluebeard had not answered the question which 
Puss had asked him in the last story. Perhaps 
he was waiting for Puss to notice the color of his 
beard, which was brown and not blue any more. 
But as Puss did not repeat his question, Blue¬ 
beard said: “I have reformed, my good Sir Cat. 
And to tell you the truth, I think it was the 
color of my beard that made me so cruel.” 

“Indeed,” said Puss, following Bluebeard into 
the great hall. “And when did you dye it an¬ 
other color?” 

“I didn’t dye it,” exclaimed Bluebeard. “It 
changed color of itself one night, and when I 
awoke in the morning I felt so pleasant and 
happy! Indeed, my good Sir Cat, one is much 
happier when one is good.” 


WHAT CHANGED BLUEBEARD’S BEARD? 


At this. Goosey Gander, who had been silent 
all this time, flapped his wings and said: 



“Hearts that are good and true 
Would not have a beard of blue. 

So a Fairy of renown, 

Nimble Finger, turned yours brown.” 
107 







PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 

“What!” cried Bluebeard, “did a fairy change 
the color of my beard?” 

“Ha, ha!” laughed Puss. “I know Fairy Nim¬ 
ble Finger, and a clever and wise fairy he is.” 

“But who told you?” asked Bluebeard, turn¬ 
ing to Goosey Gander, “and why is a blue beard 
a bad thing for a man to wear?” 

“I will answer your first question,” said 
Goosey Gander. “A little bird told me, and the 
little bird was a little crooked robin who lived 
in a little crooked garden that held a little 
crooked house in which there lived a crooked 
man, a crooked cat and mouse.” 

“Ha, ha! he, he!” roared Bluebeard, very 
pleasantly you know, only very loud; but it was 
a cheery laugh just the same; “you’ll make me 
believe in fairies the first thing you know.” 

Just then who should come in but Fairy Nim¬ 
ble Finger himself. “I will answer Bluebeard’s 
question,” he said. “A wicked fairy turned his 
beard blue when a young man, but I have now 
subdued this evil fairy, whose name is Meddle¬ 
some. So Bluebeard hereafter will be a good 
man and wear a brown beard.” 


AN ADVENTURE AT SCHOOL 


AFTER Puss, Junior, had bidden Bluebeard 
-CjL farewell, he and Goosey Gander came to 
a little red school-house on a hill. The school¬ 
master was unlocking the door, but when he saw 
Puss astride the Gander, he said: 

“The land was white, the sea was black; 

It ’ll take a good scholar to riddle me that.” 

“Let me come inside and I will answer it for 
you,” said Puss, Junior, with a grin, and then 
he got off the Gander and went into the school- 
house, where he sat down at a desk. 

Give me some paper, and give me some ink, 

And give me a pen that I may think, 

That I may think and then write what I know 
Upon the paper as white as snow. 

The school-teacher began to smile, for I imag¬ 
ine he thought Puss knew the answer to the 
riddle. After Puss had covered the paper with 
this verse, he said: 

“The land is the paper, the sea is the ink. 

The riddle’s answer is writing, I think,” 

109 


PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 

“You have guessed correctly,” said the 
teacher, and he gave Puss a medal. “I wish 
you’d stay until school is over, for I would like 
to have the children meet you.” 

“Ha, ha!” laughed Puss, “I think I had 
better not. You remember what happened 
when Mary’s little lamb went to school!” 



Of course the teacher did, and he began to 
laugh, and just then who should arrive but Mary 
and her little lamb. And when she saw Puss 
she hugged him and said: 

“You dear, dear Puss. Did you find your 
father?” And when Puss answered yes, she 
laughed and said she was so glad. The Lamb 
and Goosey Gander became very friendly, when, 


no 










AN ADVENTURE AT SCHOOL 


all of a sudden, the school bell rang, and so they 
had to say good-by. 

Well, the Gander flew over hill and tree-top, 
over lowly hut and stately castle, until by and 
by they came to a lake. There were ever and 
ever so many white swans sailing over the bright 
water and one had a wreath of roses round its 
neck, which made Puss, Junior, very curious, so 
he said to the Gander, “Let us stop here awhile, 
for maybe we will have a strange adventure.” 

“Who knows!” said the Gander, turning 
toward the earth and alighting on the edge of 
the lovely lake just as the Swan with the rose- 
wreath came up. 

“Welcome to the Swan Lake,” she said, bend¬ 
ing her stately neck most graciously. “Wel¬ 
come, O little Puss in Boots, Junior, and Goosey, 
Goosey Gander!” But before they could reply 
a black swan swam up and began to hiss fiercely. 

And what happened after that we will have to 
read in the next story, for there is no more room 
in this one. 


SWAN PALACE 


OU remember in the last story how the 



I Black Swan swam up just as the White 
Swan with the wreath of roses around her neck 
was speaking to Puss, Junior, on his faithful 
Goosey Gander. I hope you do, for otherwise 
you won’t know how Puss ever reached the 
shore of Swan Lake. Well, the Black Swan 
hissed fiercely at sight of Puss, and Goosey 
Gander hissed back, and if Puss hadn’t held on 
tight to the reins I’m sure Goosey Gander would 
have fought right then and there with the Black 


Swan. 


“I wonder what I had better do,” thought 
Puss to himself, and then, all of a sudden, he 
began reciting a little Mother Goose rhyme, for 
he thought that might make them friendly; 
and this is the little nursery rhyme from dear 
old Mother Goose: 


“Swan, swan, over the sea; 
Swim, swan, swim! 

Swan, swan, back again; 
Well swum, swan!” 


SWAN PALACE 


As soon as the Black Swan heard this he swam 
over to the other side of the lake, and when he 
came back he brought a big bouquet of flowers 



and gave them to Puss, saying, in a very pleas¬ 
ant voice: 

“He who his Mother Goosey knows 
Shall have the sweetest flower that blows!” 

and then Puss took the lovely roses and thanked 
the Black Swan. And it only goes to show what 
a sweet influence these old Mother Goose rhymes 
have on everybody, for even big grown-ups can 
shut their eyes and make believe they are stand- 
113 







PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 

mg in the nursery door, even if it’s only for a 
minute. 

Pretty soon the beautiful White Swan asked 
Puss and Goosey Gander to come to Swan Castle, 
which was on a little island in the lake, but Puss 
couldn’t see it, for it was hidden behind a clump 
of trees. 

Then Goosey Gander swam after the two 
swans, and Puss pulled up his legs so as not to 
get his boots wet, and by and by they came to 
the marble steps that led from the water’s edge 
into the castle. And Goosey Gander waddled 
up the long marble flight, while Puss walked by 
his side, and the beautiful black and white swans 
went on ahead to show them the way. 

There were swan sentinels on either side and 
a large black porter swan at the door of the 
palace, and little swans for pages, and a gold 
throne for the lovely white swan with the wreath 
of roses round her neck, and another gold throne 
close at hand for the beautiful Black Swan. 

And when the two swans were seated on their 
thrones the Black Swan asked Puss, Junior, to 
tell them a story. Puss, who was sitting on a 
little gold chair, stroked his whiskers reflectively, 
just like a regular, story-teller, you know, and 
then began, but what he told I cannot tell just 
now, but in the next story you shall hear what 
Puss, Junior, related to the swans on their 
golden thrones in the beautiful Swan Palace. 

114 


THE BANDY-LEGGED MAN 



OME, my noble Puss, Junior, and tell us 


one of your adventures,” said the beau¬ 
tiful Black Swan, who had brought Puss, Junior, 
and Goosey Gander to his palace, as I told you 
in the story just before this one. 

“Once upon a day,” began Puss, with a grin 
—for he was going to tell them a funny story, I 
guess, but we’ll have to wait and find out to be 
sure—“I met a man with bandy legs who was 
going to London to sell his eggs, and they were 
the eggs I heard him say that his little black 
hen laid every day.” 

“The little black hen that laid nice eggs for 
gentlemen?” asked the Black Swan, politely. 

“The very same,” answered Puss, Junior, 
crossing his leg over the other so that his red- 
topped boots might shine in the light of the 
crystal chandelier overhead, for he was very 
proud of his boots, for he was Puss in Boots, 
Junior, you must remember. 

“Well,” continued Puss, “just as I was about to 
speak, a very disagreeable-looking person tripped 
up the bandy-legged man and he fell on his nose, 
and the eggs spattered everywhere over his clothes. 


PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 


“So I asked the disagreeable-looking person 
why he had done this, and he answered that he 



had asked the bandy-legged man if his eggs were 
fresh and that he had replied they were as fresh 
W - 








THE BANDY-LEGGED MAN 


as he was, which made the disagreeable-looking 
person ever so much more disagreeable, and 
then he tripped up the bandy-legged man. I 
remember it was such a lovely day that I said 
to both angry men, ‘How can you be so dis¬ 
agreeable on a beautiful day like this?’ Then 
they both looked very ashamed, although the 
bandy-legged man kept looking at his broken 
eggs, as much as to say, ‘Who’s going to mend 
my eggs?’ Well, do you know, the disagreeable¬ 
looking man turned out to be a wonderful doc¬ 
tor, and, while he couldn’t mend the eggs, he 
did mend the bandy man’s legs. He took him 
home with him and straightened his legs so that 
he could walk without tangling his toes and 
falling at times on the bridge of his nose; in a 
wonderful way he worked out his plan and 
straightened the legs of the bandy-legged man!” 

As Puss finished his story there arose a great 
commotion at the palace door. Such a hissing 
and quacking you never heard in your life unless 
you have visited a duck-farm. The beautiful 
Black Swan called for his Palace Guard and in 
a moment in rushed twelve great swans with 
guns and swords and stood in front of the throne 
to guard the lovely White Swan with her neck¬ 
lace of rosebuds. 

And now we must wait for the next story to 
find out what happens to Puss, Junior, and his 
faithful Goosey Gander. 

117 


A RESCUE 

I F you remember, I told you there was a great 
commotion going on at the doors of the 
Swan Castle and that the Black Swan had called 
his Palace Guard to protect the lovely White 
Swan with her necklace of rosebuds, as well as 
• Puss, Junior, and his faithful Goosey Gander. 

Well, just then in came three foxes, and if it 
hadn’t been for Puss, Junior, who drew his 
sword, I fear the lovely White Swan would have 
been eaten up, for the Palace Guard were so 
frightened that they dropped their guns and 
hissed in terror. 

“Stand back!” cried Puss, Junior, swinging 
his sword like a little Knight of the Round 
Table. “Back, I say, or I will run you through 
with my trusty blade!” 

“Why, it’s Puss in Boots, Junior!” exclaimed 
one of the foxes, and he came forward and held 
out his paw. “Don’t you remember me?” he 
said, looking very kindly at Puss, who put down 
his sword and began to grin. 

“Are you the fox who asked me to supper 
118 


A RESCUE 

once? Are you the fox who stole Mr. Slipper- 
Slopper’s goose?” 

“I am,” answered the Fox, and he grinned 
even more than Puss, Junior. 



When Goosey Gander heard this he was scared 
nearly to death and so was the Black Swan, and 
the lovely White Swan trembled so she lost some 
little pink leaves from the rosebud necklace. 

“I hope you are not thinking of anything like 
U9 


9 

























PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 

that now,” said Puss, making believe he was 
very angry, but winking at the old Fox. 

“Of course not,” and he bowed very low to 
Puss. “I will take my family and leave the 
castle in peace.” 

And he was just about to go when the Black 
Swan said: “Sir Fox, why do you this? Is it 
for the sake of my guest?” 

“It is, indeed,” replied the Fox, “for no one 
would hurt a friend of his. Puss, Junior, is a 
friend and a favorite of every one, and to do him 
a favor is to honor oneself,” and the crafty old 
Fox bowed again. Perhaps he knew that if he 
did not do as Puss, Junior, wished him, some 
day harm would befall him, for that is the way 
in this great world of ours, as well as in Mother 
Goose Land, that evil comes to him who does 
evil. 

Then the lovely White Swan stood up on her 
golden throne and threw a rosebud over to Mrs. 
Fox, and this pleased Mr. Fox, for he was very 
proud of Mrs. Fox, for she had a wonderfully 
beautiful bushy tail and knew how to cook splen¬ 
did roast-duck dinners. Then the foxes bowed 
themselves out of the Swan Palace, and the Swan 
Guards picked up their guns and looked very 
brave now that everything was all over. 

And after that Puss, Junior, said good-by and 
rode away on Goosey Gander in search of more 
adventure, which you shall hear by and by, 

120 


THE UNRULY KITE 


“ O ING-song! merry-go-round, 

^ Here we go up to the moon, oh! 

Little Johnnie a penny has found. 

And so we’ll sing a tune, oh!” 

The little boy looked up at Puss, Junior, who 
sat astride of Goosey Gander. “Did you see 
me pick up the penny?” he asked. “I hope it 
isn’t yours?” 

“No, it’s not mine,” replied Puss, with a grin. 

“ What shall I buy,” 

Johnnie did cry, 

“With the penny I’ve found. 

So bright and so round?” 

“What shall we tell him?” whispered Puss to 
Goosey Gander, and then, would you believe it, 
Goosey Gander began to recite his answer in 
rhyme, and this is what that Goosey bird said: 

“What shall you buy? 

A kite that will fly 

Up to the moon, all through the sky! 

But if when it gets there 
It should stay in the air, 

121 


PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 

Or the Man in the Moon 
Should open the door 

And take it in with his long, long paw— 

We should sing to another tune, oh!” 



Well, just then along came a man with kites 
for sale, and the little boy bought a beautiful 
one, and pretty soon it was up in the air for over 
a mile, I guess, for it looked as small as a star. 
And then the wind began to blow harder and 
122 
















THE UNRULY KITE 


harder and, the first thing you know, up went 
the little boy in the air, for he was such a brave 
little boy that he wouldn’t let go of the string, 
and, of course, when he got up very high he was 
afraid to! Then his mother came running out 
of the house, crying bitterly, for she thought 
her little boy was gone forever. 

“I’ll bring him back,” cried Puss, Junior, and 
away he flew on the Gander up in the air after 
the kite. And Goosey Gander had to use all his 
strength, too, to catch up with the little boy, 
for the wind blew a regular gale, and if the 
Gander hadn’t spread out his tail for a sail I 
doubt whether he ever would have come up to 
the kite at all. 

At last Puss, Junior, caught hold of the string 
and tied it to the Gander’s left leg. “Now 
Goosey Gander,” he said, “drop, just let your¬ 
self drop, and we’ll pull down the kite.” And 
then he called out to the little boy to be sure 
and not let go, and by and by they came down 
to the ground. 

And if the little boy’s mother hadn’t tied the 
string to a big strong tree just as quickly as she 
could, the kite might have gone up in the air 
again, for all I know, with Goosey Gander, for 
the string was still tied to his left leg when the 
little boy let go! 


GOOSEY GANDER FLIES AWAY 


IN a cottage in Fife 

A Lived a man and his wife 
Who, believe me, were comical folk; 

For, to people’s surprise. 

They both saw with their eyes. 

And their tongues moved whenever they spoke! 

“Let us stop here,” said Puss, Junior, to 
Goosey Gander, so the good-natured bird flew 
down to the ground and landed his small rider 
safely in front of the cottage. 

No sooner had he knocked than the door 
opened and a little woman asked him what he 
wanted. 

“Ah, madam!” replied Puss, Junior, “I am 
traveling through the charming land of Mother 
Goose, and as I have been told that you and 
your husband are ‘comical folk,’ I stopped to 
see for myself.” 

“Well, do you think we are?” she asked, with 
a laugh. 

Puss looked puzzled. “No, you certainly are 
not,” and he was just going to ask for her hus¬ 
band, when he appeared. And there was noth¬ 
in 


GOOSEY GANDER FLIES AWAY 


ing comical about him, either, except that he 
had a pair of pink eye-glasses on his nose. 

“Well, well, well / 5 exclaimed the little man, 
“if this isn’t Puss, Junior!” and he took off his 
spectacles and shook hands with Puss. And 
then he patted Goosey Gander and remarked 
what a fine bird he was to carry Puss on his 
back so safely over hill and dale. “One would 
almost think you were the son of Mother Goose, 
for she has a son Jack who rides on her Gander 
at times, so I have heard.” 

“I visited her once,” said Puss, “but it was a 
long time ago. Tell me, does she live far from 
here?” 

“In yonder wood,” replied the little man. 
“It is not far, as you can see.” 

Well, pretty soon Puss, who was anxious to 
ask Mother Goose the way home to his father, 
bade the little man and his wife good-by and 
started off. But just as he was about to mount 
his feathered steed a fox sprang out from behind 
a tree, which so frightened Goosey Gander that 
he flew off without saying good-by. 

“You shall pay for this,” cried Puss, fiercely, 
drawing his sword. But Mr. Fox had no desire 
to do battle with a cat who handled a sword so 
well as Puss, and so he turned tail and fled into 
the wood. 

“I have lost my Goosey Gander,” said Puss 
to himself, “so now I must go on foot.” And 


PUSS IN BOOTS, JR. AND OLD MOTHER GOOSE 


with these words he started bravely off to find 
Mother Goose, nor did he for a moment fear 
harm from the fox. Puss was too brave for 
that, and, besides, he had with him his trusty 
sword, and 

When one has a trusty sword 
He bravely doth go forth abroad! 

And what he does after that I will tell you in 
the next book, which will be all about Puss in 
Boots, Junior, in New Mother Goose Land. 


THE END 


ft’56 





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